New class councils discuss community, legacy, and trust following election reruns

Following a voting system error, the Class of 2027, Class of 2028, and Class of 2029 class councils are set for the next year. The Class of 2029 secretary and Class of 2028 social chair positions were the only contested positions across all classes. Elections for the two positions were rerun after the original voting mechanism used approval voting rather than the ranked-choice method required by the USG constitution. 

For the Class of 2029, Lumina Zhang ’29 will serve as president with David Jen ’29 as vice president. Amy Zhou ’29 will serve as treasurer, Toby Chang ’29 as secretary, and Anna Nguyen ’29 as social chair. Chang was the only candidate who did not run unopposed, defeating Ella Ehiosu-Enoma ’29 by 22 votes, after Hailey Swyter ’29 was eliminated in the ranked-choice voting. 

Chang is a staff News writer for The Daily Princetonian.

For the Class of 2028, Misimi Sanni ’28 will serve as president, Sarah Kwon ’28 as vice president, Serena Zhang ’28 as treasurer and Olivia Porter ’28 as secretary, all remaining in their respective positions. Antonia Canizares ’28 won the social chair position after the rerun against Sam Toledo ’28.

The Class of 2027 will continue to be led by D’Schon Simmons ’27 as president, Dean Minello ’27 as vice president, Allie Ebanks ’27 as treasurer, Nnamdi Udeogu ’27 as secretary, and Alistair Wright ’27 as social chair.

Wright is the business manager for the ‘Prince.’

In written comments to the ‘Prince,’ Class Council officers discussed their priorities for the coming year and their thoughts on the election reruns. 

The 2027 Class Council, entering its senior year, views this year as the foundation for a permanent class identity, Wright wrote.

“We have a vision of 2027 being a truly great Princeton Reunion class where people come back every single year and stay connected,” Wright wrote. “Our team is excited to strengthen this cohesion in our senior year and make it a priority.”

To achieve this, the council is expanding the Commencement Committees, bringing roughly 30 additional classmates into the planning process. Wright explained that this move is a deliberate attempt to “widen the circle” of student input and ensure that senior year programming reflects the diverse interests of the class rather than just the views of five officers.

Ebanks, the returning treasurer, also emphasized the importance of including a wide range of classmates in this process.

“I don’t want students to be able to point to just the five of us and see what Class Council accomplished in isolation,” she wrote. “I want this to be a genuinely collaborative effort, where at the end of our time here, our class can look at one another and see our shared thoughts, ideas, and experiences reflected in what we built together.”

Wright added that the council is committed to making the full academic year feel celebratory, not just the spring stretch before graduation. 

“If all senior events are crammed into the final part of the year, it can feel a bit back-heavy,” he wrote. “The entire year is special, and we want people to remember celebrating from September through May.”

Simmons, who will continue to serve as president, saw student negativity toward the student government’s work as an issue to address. 

“One challenge we’ve noticed is how easy it can be to focus on what’s not working, even in a place where there are many opportunities and resources,” he said. “At the same time, we don’t want to dismiss concerns — those matter, and they help us improve.”

Simmons also noted that uncontested elections do not signal disengagement. 

“Most of our team has been serving since freshman or sophomore year, and we’ve remained committed to following through on the initiatives we’ve set out to accomplish,” he said. 

On the question of visibility, Simmons drew a distinction that he said is often missed. 

“Student government at Princeton isn’t one single body — it includes both Senate and class governments, which have very different roles,” he wrote. “That distinction isn’t always clear, and it can contribute to a broader feeling of disconnect.” 

Udeogu, the returning secretary, views fragmentation and the tendency for Princeton social life to center around eating clubs and friend groups as the biggest challenge facing the class.

“It’s easy to go weeks without meaningfully interacting with people outside your usual orbit,” he wrote. “I think class government can help create touchpoints that cut across those boundaries.” 

To do that, Udegu has considered holding open hours for people to express their thoughts in addition to showing up at dining halls and residential college events.

Notably, in the race for 2028 social chair, results were released publicly before the election was rerun, creating confusion for both candidates and their classmates. The student body was originally notified that Toledo won the seat for social chair through a graph in an email. After the elections were rerun, Canizares won the position. 

The episode sharpened Canizares’ sensitivity to procedural fairness. “The real issue was that the initial results were posted when students should not have seen them in the first place, as they were invalid,” she wrote to the ‘Prince.’ 

“Once that happened, it created confusion and put both candidates in an unfair position, regardless of who was ahead, because people were reacting to numbers that ultimately were not supposed to decide the election.”

Canizares believes the rerun warranted more explanation from USG than students received. “Trust in student elections depends not just on the final outcome, but on students understanding that procedures are being followed consistently and communicated clearly,” she wrote.

Zhang, the returning treasurer, wrote that the council is looking to offer more intimate alternatives in addition to existing large-scale events, such as the Welcome Back BBQ, Field Days, and Declaration Day.

“Our class-sponsored Knicks game at Madison Square Garden this past March was a smaller, more intimate group of about 40 students,” Zhang wrote. “It was a really nice change of pace from our larger events and offered members of our class the chance to connect with their classmates and friends in a different setting.” 

The council is already planning additional trips for next academic year, including to Six Flags, apple-picking outings, and Broadway or performance shows, according to Zhang. She also identified the Alumni Connections Event program, which has matched current 2028 students with alumni mentors from the class of 2023, as a priority for expansion, noting that career and post-graduation advice will grow more relevant as the class moves into upperclassman years.

On accountability, Zhang wrote that she sees continuous feedback on various activities as essential to the council’s relationship with the class. 

“There is a level of trust that we’ve worked to establish between our classmates and our government,” she wrote. “We hope to continue to build and strengthen that trust moving forward by taking classmates’ feedback and implementing it.”

Porter, the returning secretary, pointed to the Welcome Back BBQ, where she organized a music stage with performers from the Class of 2028, as a model for the kind of programming she wants to see more of. “We should work to do more events like this in 2028,” she wrote. 

She also acknowledged that much of what officers do remains invisible to most students. 

“Many times, I’ve had classmates be surprised by the amount of behind-the-scenes work we do,” Porter wrote, “but we do it out of love and commitment to our class and the opportunity to create meaningful experiences.”

Kwon, the returning vice president, echoed this, writing that she “remembers classmates approaching me on Declaration Day, saying how grateful they were for this opportunity to gather with the whole class to make memories. It made the hard work and behind-the-scenes planning all worth it.”

Moving forward, Canizares plans to review the Orange and Black Ball, a major class event she believes commands a significant portion of the social budget without generating proportionate engagement.

“I have already brought this concern to the deans and ODUS, and a working group has begun discussing ways to reshape the event into something students can get more out of and feel more excited to attend,” she wrote.

The Class of 2029 government finalized its leadership after the secretary race was rerun. Only Chang and Zhou provided comments to the ‘Prince’ at the time of publication. 

Chang, the incoming 2029 secretary, was left thinking about the importance of trust after his election was rerun due to the voting method error. 

“Engagement with campus affairs and confidence in USG is already low,” he wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “This election certainly didn’t help with that.” 

Looking ahead, Chang wants to build on the council’s social media and email outreach with more in-person engagement and hopes to serve as a bridge between USG’s policy bodies and the first-year class. 

Zhou, the returning treasurer, said expanding the scope of class programming is a top priority, from coffee and food tabs at a variety of local vendors to off-campus trips, a career talk series, and mentorship opportunities with the Class of 2029’s “parent class,” the Class of 2004.

“I want to create events and spaces where we can find stress relief and enjoy the company of our friends and community,” she wrote.

The terms for Class Council members will run until elections next spring. 

Andrew Arthur is a staff News writer from London and is on general assignment. 

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.