Student Government’s six executive officers entered office nearly a year ago with promises to strengthen outreach and make the organization more accessible to students. Since then, they have presided over a term marked less by upheaval and more by adjustment — rewriting internal documents and attempting to leave the structure of Student Government stronger than they found it. 

With their term set to conclude in December, The Lafayette reviewed the promises made by the incumbents, one of whom is seeking re-election, and evaluated the extent to which they were achieved.

President Alex Brown ‘26

Brown ran to learn what students want and give them tangible results. While Student Government saw a productive year, much like in its past two terms, its energy was largely directed toward internal matters.

Brown oversaw the rewrite of the organization’s financial guidelines, which dictate how the budget committee can dole out funds, and a massive structural overhaul that could see all of Student Government popularly elected, if approved.

Most of Brown’s more concrete pledges — expanding composting in fraternity houses, fairer parking ticket practices, new gym equipment, anonymous suggestion boxes — did not come to fruition. He expressed his hope that the institutional changes he oversaw would put the next executive board “in a better place to both hear these concerns from students and then actually execute on them.”

Under Brown, representatives have appeared more engaged and attentive in meetings, and turnover, a problem that plagued the organization in 2024, stabilized somewhat, with four representative seats changing hands throughout the year, compared to 11 the previous one.

“Student Government knows more that it has a purpose,” Brown said.

While Brown largely avoided controversy, as president-elect, he and the Student Government advisor violated the organization’s bylaws by calling a special election over the heads of the executive board still in office.

Vice President Sasha Carter ‘27

Under Carter’s purview as vice president, the organization saw a solid rebound in its recruitment and retention efforts.

Carter, who is not running for reelection so that she can study abroad, pledged to establish monthly meetings for class year representatives and hold team-strengthening events in an effort to foster a sense of community, both of which she followed through on.

During her term, she worked closely with committees to create formal transition documents, ensuring that each team had a concretely articulated aim and associated tasks. Like Brown, she focused on the organization’s identity and mission.

“If we don’t know that, how do we pass that down to the next group?” Carter said.

Three of four vacancies the organization saw this year were what Brown has called “controlled turnover.” One was the result of a transfer, and Carter said she worked with the other three members to conclude that stepping down was the right decision, which she said “felt very natural.”

“If I really wanted to, could I have tried for zero vacancies completely?” Carter asked. “I could have. But at the end of the year in our class year meeting, I had people reflect — ‘Would you like to continue in Student Government?’”

“You always want to give other people an opportunity that maybe are more excited about the role,” she continued.

Treasurer Gracie Vale ‘27

While increasing financial communication, Vale, like her recent predecessors, kept the budget approval process secret.

Now running uncontested as the first treasurer to seek reelection in at least seven years, Vale will be tasked with implementing the new financial guidelines, approved in May under her leadership. The guidelines use plainer language than the document they replace and include a diversity clause. The organization also shifted the budget cycle from seasonal to semesterly to streamline operations.

Vale also pledged to expand the budget committee’s office hours, adding a weekly committee office hour and creating a Google Calendar sign-up system to allow clubs to reserve time with the committee.

“I wish I had more time to meet with every single club,” Vale wrote in an email. “It does help a lot when clubs meet at budget office hours to explain their requests.”

The incumbent oversaw the restoration of mandatory budget information sessions, a presentation session on budget requests that club treasurers are required to attend to access Student Government funds.

Student Government continued its years-long practice of making all budget allocation decisions behind closed doors in executive session under Vale, though she said she instituted a new internal system to track each club’s budget requests and to note the committee’s final allocation, its process and reasoning.

Communications Officer Ava Gallia ‘26

Gallia’s campaign for communications officer centered on bringing Student Government to the students by reducing the organization’s reliance on Instagram as a communication channel, though she noted in an email that social media will remain the “primary method of communication” from the organization. Her record was mixed.

Under Gallia, Student Government began utilizing email blasts through OurCampus, and the organization produced physical advertisements and surveys. She also pledged to organize meet and greets, town halls and press conferences. The organization saw two town halls this year with a third planned before the end of the year, according to Gallia. No meet and greets or press conferences were held, though she said the organization is planning a “Meet Your (Future) Representatives” tabling event when elections open next week.

Gallia also promised to distribute a regular Student Government newsletter, which was sent via email in March and October. Another was planned for April, Gallia said, though a “miscommunication” prevented it from going out, which she did not elaborate on.

Gallia pledged to do the job better than her predecessor. While Gallia served as parliamentarian in 2024, she allowed the organization to hold meetings despite not posting the meeting agenda on time, a prerequisite for hosting meetings. Gallia pledged not to violate this specific rule, which she claimed to accomplish. On Thursday, the organization posted the agenda less than 12 hours before its general body meeting.

As communications officer, Gallia is responsible for distributing meeting minutes to a variety of groups on campus, though she has not done so consistently; historically, communications officers have made the minutes available weekly.

“I was unable to obtain a complete list of the relevant parties last semester,” Gallia wrote. “This resulted in a delay in their dissemination to some groups, which I am actively working to rectify.”

The year’s minutes, through mid-October, were recently uploaded to Student Government’s website by Rep. William Bennett ‘28, who is currently on the ballot for vice president. All historical meeting minutes appear to have been scrubbed, along with many archival posts on Student Government’s Instagram account.

Inclusivity Officer Luna Garces ‘27

Garces, who is also not running to go abroad, ran on a platform of strengthening the relationship between Student Government and identity-based clubs and increasing the publicity of campus diversity initiatives. She noted that she had a “huge role” in the revision of the financial guidelines, which now include a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in the budget process.

The rewrite also saw changes to the rules on food budgets to accommodate cultural or religious significance, following the Muslim Students Association’s struggle to receive funding for meals during Ramadan.

“That was something that we never wanted to happen again,” Garces said.

She also pledged in her campaign to start inclusivity office hours, an inclusivity-specific newsletter and create a form similar to the One Pard solely for incidents of bias. While the DEI newsletter went out once last semester, the plan was shelved along with the other two campaign goals.

“It just felt like maybe we would be stepping on toes a little bit,” Garces said, citing the Office of Intercultural Development newsletter. She also added that she worried office hours would be “flooding the gates of communication,” with regular organization office hours and newly instated multicultural club forums held monthly.

Garces also pioneered the organization’s new club delegate system that provides representatives to act as liaisons for student organizations, which she said currently has 14 clubs on board.

Parliamentarian Bryan Kibet ‘27

Kibet entered his term as parliamentarian hoping to redefine what he deemed a “passive” and “underutilized” role. He achieved mixed results.

“Compared to previous years, I’ve made the role more visible and engaged in shaping how meetings and constitutional reform happen,” Kibet wrote in an email. 

The role of parliamentarian first came to Student Government in 2022, part of a massive overhaul of the organization’s executive structure.

Kibet, who is not running for re-election, also campaigned largely on education, aiming to increase organizational awareness of internal procedures and guidelines. He cited his procedure educational presentations during general body meetings as examples, and also led a Kahoot on Student Government rules in a February meeting.

While Student Government did not make any egregious rule violations, it did not follow all of its rules.

“We’re aware of a few areas that still need tightening, like formal distribution of minutes and resolutions,” he wrote. He noted that the structural overhaul Student Government is pursuing — which would include splitting the communications officer role into two positions — would “directly address” those concerns.

“The structural reforms we’ve passed will make accountability much easier going forward,” he added.