Student Government executive board candidates participated in a forum moderated by The Lafayette on Thursday that saw an audience of over 200, a capella performances, a Jellycat baguette raffle and an appearance from mascot Roary.
The crowd was the first in six years to witness a competitive race for nearly every position on the ballot, with treasurer the only uncontested role.
Following last year’s largely uncompetitive elections and a Leopard’s Lair candidate forum that garnered meager attendance, Student Government sought to make this year’s forum more of a “campus celebration,” according to Communications Officer Ava Gallia ‘26.
“We wanted the event to feel electric so that students were actually excited about participating in the elections,” she said. The cost of the event was around $600, according to the Student Government advisor.
Gallia, who spearheaded the event’s new form, secured a sponsorship from trendy prebiotic soda brand Poppi, though the cans didn’t arrive in time for the forum. Representatives tabling for student votes passed out the cans later in the week.
The forum was split into two halves — the first for candidates for communications officer, inclusivity officer and parliamentarian, and the second for the presidential, vice presidential and treasurer candidates — with a capella performances before, between and after.
Candidates tackled issues including inclusivity in Student Government, communication strategies and retention of Student Government members.
Many audience members came to support specific candidates. For others, like members of research group Gov Lab or the Lafayette Activities Forum, attendance was mandatory.
Gabrielle Liechtung ‘29 said she attended the event to support her three friends running for executive positions.
“Sometimes, in a candidate’s response, they would criticize a part of the previous Student Government board, or just Lafayette in general,” Liechtung said. “I found that sometimes to be a little bit off-putting.”
Liechtung, among others, said that her views on candidates did not change after attending the forum.
Since the release of the candidates, many student organizations have staked their claim in the election, endorsing candidates up and down the ballot.
Presidential candidate Rep. Milan Iezzi ‘28 secured an endorsement from the Lafayette Activities Forum — an organization of which she is a member — after its staff attended the forum and held a majority vote.
“We really wanted everyone to know her platform and know everyone’s platform before asking people to endorse,” LAF President Elizabeth Miller ‘26 said. LAF receives a significant amount of its event budget from Student Government.
Iezzi’s opposition, Rep. Allie Waxman ‘28, received an endorsement on-stage from her a capella group, Soulfege, during the forum. The group, including Waxman, took to the stage after the forum concluded, each wearing “Vote AWax for StuGov Prez” stickers.
“We’re so happy to be here, closing out the night, and we are absolutely so proud of our very own Allie Waxman, who we are so proud to endorse tonight,” said one member as the group assembled on stage.
Two members of the Student Government elections committee, which planned the forum, said they did not know about the live endorsement ahead of time.
“I don’t know that it was fair, but as far as I’m aware it’s technically allowed,” current President Alex Brown ‘26 wrote in a text message.
“While I do think one might take it as like, the other people running for any of the positions weren’t in a capella groups, I think it was nice that my a capella group wanted to go up there and support me,” Waxman said.
Clara Witmer ‘27 contributed reporting.
