StuCo Election Results Released

The Exeter student body has elected the new 2019-20 Student Council Executive Board—upper Ayush Noori as President, upper Matthew Wabunoha as Vice President and lowers Charlotte Lisa and JaQ Lai as Co-Secretaries.

Noori grounded his presidential platform in a promise to reach all members of the Exeter community. “As President, I will ensure that Student Council is persistently soliciting feedback from all students on campus and that each member of the Exeter community has a voice,” he said. “The purpose of Student Council, at its core, is to ensure all student concerns are addressed and every Exonian has the opportunity to spark tangible change.”

Since his prep year, Noori has engaged with Student Council as a regular member, cohead of the Student Life Committee, member of the Bike Share team, and Co-Secretary of the Executive Board. “My experience in leadership positions and on Student Council has granted me insight into both the strengths of StuCo and our areas for growth,” he said. His involvement aided him in structuring his campaign around three pillars—financial equity, promoting diversity and fostering a culture of compassion.

Upper and Student Council Mental Health Committee co-head Joy Liu supported Noori because of his approach to mental health on campus. “I think, because everyone’s platform involved mental health, it is important to note that Ayush is the only candidate that spoke to me and the other co-head of the Student Council Mental Health Committee about our plans going forward,” Liu said.

While mental health is a difficult and nuanced issue to address, Liu believes Noori will be able to enact meaningful change. “Mental health is such an abstract concept, and it is hard to take tangible steps to better the wellbeing of the campus,” she said. “Every candidate has this goal and I have no doubt that every candidate intends to better the mental health of our student body. However, I feel Ayush could actually pull it off.”

Wabunoha views his new role as a position of communication, having been inspired by the Council on Community, Equity and Diversity’s (CCED) involvement with the Afro-Latinx Exonian Society (ALES). “CCED asked us if they could do anything to support our endeavors,” he said. “I look forward to the chance to reach out to members of the Exeter community in a similar fashion and act as the catalyst for that change.”

Likewise, Lisa noted broad student involvement as her key focus in the coming months. “I would also like to gather student opinion on what Exonians want to do first, rather than what I want to do first,” she said. “I hope students all around campus, in all different pockets of Exeter will feel that what happens in StuCo has an impact on them, that what happens in StuCo matters and that they have a say in that.”

Lai agrees and intends to strengthen communication in and outside of Student Council. “I think that my next course of action is going to be taking an active step to see what new directions we can find through talking with students within student council but also reaching out to other groups around campus,” he said.

Regardless of campaign promises, some members of Student Council still feel the organization itself is not capable of significantly influencing the campus. “I think that, over my years here and through my time in StuCo, I have found the organization is less about making changes in the Exeter community and more about reiterating and commenting on the changes that have happened in the community,” upper Emma Cerrato said. “In meetings, often it feels like faculty coming forward and saying these are the changes we’ve made and this is what’s going to happen.”

Lower Bizzie Lynch was also cynical about the efficacy of Student Council. “Honestly, in the end, I know that the president is probably going to Harvard,” she said. “This forces me to the conclusion that the vote is much more affiliated with college matriculation than feasible change in Student Council.” Based on this perception, Lynch values character traits over efficiency when electing a candidate.

Lai has identified one of his chief concerns as changing the perception of Student Council as an entity that can enact positive change. “I’d like to see by the time I leave [that] students feel like they are part of the Exeter community and can see the things they care about advanced and see changes where they want change to be made,” he said. “I would also hope students leave feeling more optimism about the changes that can be made through Student Council.”

President Noori concluded that in the coming year, he will utilize the tremendous influence of Student Council to create lasting improvements in the Exeter community. “Student Council is the second largest student organization on this campus,” Noori said. “The president is responsible for crafting the vision of Council and keeping it accountable to its constituents. I believe serving as president is among the most powerful ways to create positive change on this campus.”