The GUSA Senate certified the Fall 2024 election results and swore in 11 new senators at their post-election meeting on Sunday, Nov. 10.
In a unanimous decision, Ethan Henshaw (CAS ’26) and Darius Wagner (CAS ’27) were certified as the new GUSA Executive president and vice president. Henshaw and Wagner won the election on Nov. 7, and their ticket received 1,061 votes, according to official results released by the GUSA Election Commission.
1,790 students voted in this semester’s election, according to a presentation from the GUSA Election Commission. This turnout is 19.7% lower than in Spring 2024 and 27.7% lower than in the Fall 2023 elections, which were also for Executive and Senate positions.
The presentation indicated that there were “some violations / complaints, but nothing too serious,” regarding campaign bylaws. Rai Masoud (SFS ’27), Chair of the GUSA Election Commission, said during the presentation that the violations regarded one campaign following students on social media before their campaigns were allowed to officially begin, resulting in their suspension for a few hours.
The post-election certification meeting also marked the end of GUSA’s 19th Senate, which saw several accomplishments including the start of a weekend GUTS bus route, a $30,000 Diversity Fund for cultural organizations on campus, and the passing of a Gender-Inclusive Housing referendum, among others.
The 20th Senate kicked off at the same meeting by swearing in 11 new senators and voting on Senate leadership positions.
Seven new senators for the class of 2028 and four new at-large senators were sworn in at the Sunday meeting. Cameran P. Lane (CAS ’28), Nikki Jiang (SOH ’28), Zadie Weaver (SFS ’28), Tyler Chase (SFS ’28), Paul Nassar (SFS ’28), Mikey Williams (SFS ’28), and Amelia Snyder (SOH ’28) will represent the class of 2028. Nico Santiago (CAS ’27), Olivia Mason (CAS ’26), Saahil Rao (SFS ’27), and Youngsung Sim (SFS ’27) officially began their new positions as at-large senators.
Rhea Iyer (SFS ’26) was elected Speaker of the GUSA Senate and Meriam Ahmad (SFS ’26) was elected Vice Speaker. Three committee leadership positions were also voted on, with Sahil Sud (SFS ’27) elected as Chair of Policy and Advocacy, Tina Solki (SFS ’26) as Chair of Finance and Appropriations, and Evan Cornell (CAS ’27) as Chair of Ethics and Oversight.
