Chyna Brodie, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs, was elected as Student Government president for the 2021-22 academic year with 65 percent of the vote.
Javon Darrien, a sophomore in the SPA, was elected as vice president with 44 percent of the vote, receiving only 21 more votes than his competitor, Zuby Chowdhury.
SPA sophomore Maanasi Natarajan has been elected as secretary with about 75 percent of the vote, while Max Rubin, also a sophomore in the SPA, will serve as comptroller. Both ran unopposed.
Voter turnout decreased by 28 percent this year with 1,541 students casting a virtual ballot and 88 casting paper ballots for the executive board, down from 2,265 votes in the April 16, 2020 election. Turnout increased significantly from the special election in late July, however.
“It feels good that AU students are behind me, and excited to be a part of this presidency,” Brodie told The Eagle. “It’s not just my presidency, it’s ours. … Through my campaign, we emphasized that this is beyond me, it is about us.”
Brodie focused her campaign around the tenets of advocacy, community and transparency, and plans to uplift BIPOC voices in every aspect of her work as president. She will succeed current SG President Eric Brock, who assumed the position in a special election in late July in which voter turnout cratered 71 percent from the previous election.
The election hit an early snag Friday when technical difficulties for the first 45 minutes of voting forced SG Elections Commissioner Sarah Gordon to issue virtual paper ballots for those unable to complete their ballot via the CampusLabs platform.
Darrien’s campaign focused on reimagining Founders Week and providing more funding for class and school councils and other organizations. SG transparency and accountability were also major focuses of his campaign.
“I am so grateful and honored to have been elected to this position,” Darrien said. “I look forward to getting started and spending my summer doing the work for this community. There’s a lot of work to do and I am so excited for it.”
Natarajan hopes to strengthen the dialogue between the student body and SG, while keeping inclusivity and accessibility at the forefront.
Rubin said that he will bring an advocacy portion back to the position, as well as lean on the work of past comptrollers. He also hopes to expand the potential of the Eagle Endowment grant, allowing for more opportunities when it comes to projects.
More than two-thirds of students voted to modify the school and class council elections to be held in the fall semester in a referendum. While a majority of students voted to modify the senate term to begin mid-fall, the referendum failed without the requisite two-thirds it needed to pass.
School and class council results are listed below. Unlisted positions had no victor.
2023 Council
Vice President: Wilson Baatar
2024 Council
President: Niko Keddy
Treasurer: Emily Brignand
Secretary: Kyleigh Tatum
CAS Council
President: Abigail Jackson
SOC Council
President: Karlee Zolman
Vice President: Yareni Murillo
SIS Council
President: Matthew Low
SPA Council
President: Kyra Thordsen
Vice President: Parthav Easwar
Treasurer: Jordana Conti
Secretary: Whitney Powers
