Quentin Colón Roosevelt ’27 has been elected president of Undergraduate Student Government (USG) with Anuj Krishnan ’27 as vice president, according to an email announcement from USG sent to the student body on Friday. Students also passed both referenda on the ballot, with overwhelming majorities of 76 percent of votes in favor of divesting from fossil fuel company PetroTiger and 95 percent of votes in favor of restoring independent dining.
“I really appreciate all the support I got from so many different students throughout the campaign,” Colón Roosevelt said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian. “I think it also speaks to a want from students about USG to maybe take a different direction in regards to our interactions with students, our interactions with administrators, and the kind of work we focus on.”
A total of 2,005 students cast ballots in the presidential election, the lowest turnout in at least a decade. The last time student participation fell below this figure was 2015, before the University expanded its class sizes. Colón Roosevelt received 59 percent of votes, an 18-point margin over Aum Dhruv ’27.
Dhruv is a staff Audience creator for the ‘Prince.’
“I was actually pretty surprised at how low turnout was,” Colón Roosevelt told the ‘Prince.’ “It shows that students don’t really see us as a very serious organization to engage with. They don’t even think it’s worth voting for who the president is, or who the vice president is.”
“That’s a sign that students really don’t think we’re effectively representing them, or they don’t think it’s worth their time to vote,” Krishnan added in a separate interview.
Krishnan received 1,021 of first-round votes — 52.5 percent of votes cast — for the vice president position. This is more than twice the number of votes either of the two competing vice presidential candidates received. Krishnan ran on a slate with Dhruv, and this was the second split-ticket president and vice-president combination in a row.
“While the result wasn’t necessarily what I hoped for, I’m encouraged by how many students engage with real policy conversations this cycle,” Dhruv said. “I wish Quentin the best. Congrats to him. It was well deserved, and I’m looking forward to what USG accomplishes.”
Colón Roosevelt, Krishnan, and the rest of the executive board will take office on Jan. 26, 2026, the first day of spring-term classes. They will face a host of challenges for USG, including apparent student apathy, ongoing controversy over dining plans, and an increasingly fraught relationship with the University.
“I’m incredibly confident that we’ll be able to work together,” Krishnan added, referring to Colón Roosevelt. “He’s an incredibly passionate guy, someone who really cares about the things that he does. I will also say I’m the same.”
The remaining elected executive board members include Marvel Jem Roth ’28 as treasurer, Oscar Barrios ’27 as the Undergraduate Student Life Committee chair, Isaac Bernstein ’28 as Academics Committee chair, Vivian Chang ’28 as Social Committee chair, Anaya Willabus ’28 for Campus & Community Affairs Committee chair, Gianna Maltbie ’29 for Sustainability Committee Chair, Morgan Hoang ’27 for DEI Committee Chair, and Aakansh Yerpude ’27 for Mental Health Committee Chair.
Bernstein is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’ Willabus is a staff Copy editor for the ‘Prince.’
For class Senators, Hasan Alsaedi ’27 and Philip Tziamtzis ’27, Anna Sanchez ’28 and Abiola Tiamiyu ’28, and Aitana Camponovo ’29 and Mihir Tadeparti ’29 were elected to fill the two Senator positions for each of the junior, sophomore, and first-year classes.
Camponovo is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Six executive board positions remained uncontested as of Nov. 12, according to a USG email soliciting more students to run for office. However, every executive office was contested going into the first day of voting on Nov. 24. With the exception of the two Class of 2027 Senator positions, this election held a full slate of competitive races.
Students also passed both referenda on the ballot. Referendum No. 1, sponsored by Charlie Yale ’28 on behalf of Sunrise Princeton, calls for divestment from Princeton’s private limited partnership to PetroTiger I, an investment entity with royalty interests in mineral rights and other oil and gas projects.
Yale is an assistant Opinion editor for the ‘Prince.’
However, the text of Referendum No. 1 refers to “PetroTiger, LTD.,” the same name as a defunct oil-and-gas services company founded in the late 1990s by a Princeton alumnus, rather than PetroTiger I, LTD., the private limited partnership from which the University earns income (the University previously also had holdings in companies named PetroTiger II, III and IV which are no longer in business).
It is unclear how USG will address the wording error in the referendum, which the Senate approved at its Nov. 9 meeting. The measure passed with 76 percent support, or 1,491 votes.
“There was an intent behind the referenda,” Colón Roosevelt said. “I think every person who voted for this referendum understood what company was being referred to.”
Referendum No. 2 calls on the University to restore independent dining status, or, should there not be a reinstatement, to implement a number of parallel demands. The referendum was composed and submitted by the USG Senate and sponsored by current USG president Enzo Kho ’26. It passed overwhelmingly with 95 percent of the student vote, following weeks of pushback from independent students, eating clubs, and alumni to the University’s planned changes to campus dining and housing.
Referenda, once passed by undergraduate students and adopted by the USG Senate, do not have a formal or binding role in University governance. Administrators have not been receptive to implementing any of the four referenda passed in last year’s winter election cycle.
Still, the USG Senate is required to produce a written report for each referendum in accordance with section 708 of the USG Elections Handbook. The position papers for Referendum No. 1 and 2 will be submitted by Jan. 26, 2026. Position papers for last year’s referenda were submitted on Jan. 26, 2025, although their exact text was never publicly distributed.
Colón Roosevelt and Krishnan also shared their visions for USG priorities going forward.
“I think we want to turn USG into more of an advocacy organization, while keeping the same programming that builds community on campus,” Colón Roosevelt said. “If the students voted for me, then I think hopefully that means that’s what they want.”
“We have really capable people and a really proven track record of putting together really cool, innovative programming,” Krishnan said. “I think that’s that policy work that students want us to do more of, which is why both of us are really interested in getting that done.”
“I definitely want to make us a more forward facing body. I want students to really believe they can come to us with their issues and that we will actually work with them,” Colón Roosevelt said.
Kian Petlin is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’ He is from San Francisco, Calif. and typically covers campus events and student life.
Please send corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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