Student elections came to a close last weekend for the majority of positions on the Vassar Student Association (VSA) and house teams. Here are some statements from a few members of the 2022/23 elected student body:
VSA President – Julián Aguilar (he/him)
“Hello Vassar! For those who don’t know me, my name is Julián and I’m so thrilled to be serving as your VSA President next semester alongside such a stellar Exec Board team. This next year, I’m hoping to make VSA more accessible and responsive to the student body, so please don’t hesitate to reach out on how Vassar, the VSA, or I can help you.”
VSA Vice President – Joe Mangan (they/he)
“My name is Joe Mangan, I’m a rising senior and double major in Political Science and Urban Studies, and I’ll be your Vice President for this coming 2022-23 school year! This Senate session, my goal is to expand and tailor the advocacy efforts of the VSA Senate. This includes rolling out a comprehensive annual survey of student opinion, developing and publicizing a targeted strategy to accomplish policy priorities, holding town halls with each and every House/housing area to gather direct student input, and refining the structure of the overall student government to ensure it operates efficiently.”
Chair of Equity and Inclusion – Traci Francis (she/her)
“My name is Traci Francis, and I am a rising sophomore on the varsity track and field team! As Chair of Equity and Inclusion, I hope to increase communication between administration and the various minority and low-income groups on campus to ensure students aren’t silenced, which is a major issue that I’ve noticed here at Vassar in my first year. Another goal of mine is to make sure students with disabilities, women, LGBTQ+ identifying, survivors, and those with intersecting identities are heard, feel safe, and know what options they have with regard to resources and incident reports.”
Chair of Residential Affairs – Maxwell Bergman (he/him)
“Hello, my name is Maxwell Bergman. I am a first-year track athlete and tentative STS major. I am looking forward to serving as the new Chair of Residential Affairs and helping to improve campus life.”
Chair of Academics – Emily Doucet (she/her)
“Hi everyone! I am beyond excited to be your Chair of Academics for the next 2 semesters! :) Honestly Vassar is hard enough, so if I can do anything to make the academic experience more seamless, either through helping to secure retroactive NRO’s or making the Language Requirement more bearable? I’m going to do everything in my power to make academic life a bit easier.”
Chair of Finance – Naveen Malik (he/him)
“Hello everyone, my name is Naveen and I am a rising sophomore. I plan on majoring in economics and minoring in computer science. I am very excited to get started as the Chair of Finance next year. I would like to ensure that all clubs are equitably funded and that VSA Finance continues to operate smoothly. I look forward to supporting you all next year, and please do not hesitate to reach out!”
Chair of Health and Wellness – Faye Stevens (she/her)
“Hello my name is Faye Stevens and I’m a rising sophomore from Barnard, Vermont. I’m a prospective biology or STS major and am on the Vassar track and field team. I’m really excited to take on this position as your Chair of Health and Wellness! A brief overview of some of my goals for next year include working to improve the quality of, better publicize, and destigmatize Vassar’s mental health resources; work with programming and traditions to increase outings and/or on-campus events throughout the winter months to help students take advantage of beautiful NY winters; and getting campus nutritionists for both athletes and nonathletes. These are the first of many ideas that will come to me around improving the health and wellness of our Vassar community, and thank you for this opportunity to do so!”
Chair of Programming and Traditions – Dhriti Seth (she/her)
“I’m Dhriti Seth, a rising junior biochem major. I’m very excited to take over this position after working with the current chair all year. I can’t wait to see what all of you would like to see and try my best to make it happen!”
Chair of Environmental Action – Izzy Rico (she/they)
“My name is Izzy, I’m a rising senior chemistry major and I’m your new chair of the environmental action committee. I hope to use the position to promote more engagement in sustainable practices at the individual level via education and incentive. Expanding campus composting to dorms and apartment areas is a priority as reducing waste is one of the actions we can take to immediately make an impact on our emissions.”
Chair of Student Labor – Noon Elmostafa
“Hello everyone! My name is Noon Elmostafa, a rising sophomore, who will be the chair of Student labor for the next academic year. As your chair, I will work with student employment to improve conditions for students such as advocating for a campus job guarantee for all work-study eligible students, working on improving and updating the jobx website, informing students about their labor rights, and working on ways to ensure students are meeting their allotment. I look forward to working with all of you!”
Chair of Community Affairs – Jyotsna Naidu (she/her)
“I’m a rising sophomore passionate about social justice issues. I want to make it easy for students to engage with the community and look forward to working with the Vassar and Poughkeepsie communities.”
Chair of Communications – Oliravan Eswaramoorthy
“Hello, I’m Oliravan Eswaramoorthy, a rising sophomore hoping to major in either math or computer science, and I am very excited to be your VSA Chair of Communications. I hope to streamline the VSA’s internal communication as well as its communication to the greater Vassar community through technology, accessible resources, and feedback. I look forward to working with you soon!”
Class of 2025 Senator – Charlie From (any pronouns)
“My name is Charlie From, I’m a Class of ’25 Education and Sociology major originally from Justin, Texas. This VSA term I’m hoping to fight for low-income students by passing bills to increase the laundry allocation, a book stipend and a better summer storage option. I will also fight to restructure the VSA to increase student power on campus and help us pass an ambitious agenda. I’m super excited to serve as your Senator!”
Class of 2024 Fall Semester Senator – Seowon Back (she/her)
“Hello! I am a Geography major from Queens, NY, involved in the Working Student Coalition (WSC), Vassar Asian American Studies Working Group (VASAM), and Asian Students’ Alliance (ASA). As senator, I want to help strengthen relationships between ALANA-affiliated student groups while sustaining the work that campus orgs do to financially and emotionally support students of color and low-income students.”
Class of 2023 Senator – Alistair Tollar
“My name is Alistair Swank Tollar. I’m a rising senior, Political Science Major (and soon to be Religious Studies Correlate), and I was recently elected as one of the senior classes’ senators for this upcoming year. My goal for this next year is simple: to ensure that things run as smoothly as possible in order to give my classmates an enjoyable and stress-free year. Senior year can be anxiety-producing enough. I’ll be here to ensure the seniors (and the rest of the school, of course) have a good Founder’s Day, provide oversight so that org and VSA finances run smoothly, and that there is a good working relationship between students and the administration.”
Judicial Board Chief Justice – Allie Finio (she/her)
“I’m Allie Finio, and I am the next Chief Justice of the Judicial Board. I am looking forward to resolving disputes within the VSA to ensure that our student government runs smoothly and represents the interests of all students. Please reach out to me if you have any questions!”
Senior Class President – Leonard Versola (they/them)
“Hello everyone! My name is Leonard Versola (they/them), and I am honored to serve as the President of the Senior Class Council of the Class of 2023. In this position, I hope to center the needs, wants, and interests of the senior class and to truly be an advocate for our community. It is my goal to ensure that every event that we hold is inclusive, accessible, and fun! I am excited and humbled to be elected to this position, and I hope to make our class proud and ensure our senior year is memorable. Thank you so much!”
Cushing House President – Tajibiha Faisal (she/her)
“Hi everyone! I am Tajbiha Binte Faisal, class of 2025. I was Cushing’s first year representative and now elected as Cushing’s House President. My goal is to keep Cushing a safe, comfortable and fun space for everyone.”
Lathrop House President – Michelle Gonzalez
“Hello! I am Michelle González, a rising sophomore and the upcoming Lathrop House President! I am very excited to help plan fun events for Lathrop, and I am thankful for everyone who took their time to vote. Have a great day, badgers :) !”
Lathrop House Treasurer – Eve Braverman (she/her)
“I’m Eve Braverman, and I am a rising sophomore who is going to serve as the treasurer for Raymond next year. I want to continue to maintain the Raymond spirit by having events we’ve done in the past, like the haunted house, while creating new events designed to engage with the community. Another goal of mine is to make sure that everyone feels included in Raymond, especially the first years. I’m excited to get started!”
Main House President – Sarah McNeil (she/her)
“I am very honored to serve as Main House President for the upcoming school year. My main priority will be to cultivate a comfortable and enjoyable house environment and to have a diverse range of programming options that I hope will appeal to all Main residents. I am always happy to listen to any questions, comments, or concerns anyone may have so please feel free to reach out!”
Noyes House President – Leslie Partida (she/her)
“Hey!!!! I’m Leslie and I’m from the Seattle area. I’m the new Noyes House President and as president I’ll create more collaborative events with other houses and advocate for more washers/dryers (we need them!!). I’m super excited to be Noyes President and look forward to next year!!”