Half of the races in student elections this year were contested. Over 1,200 students voted on Thursday, April 2, to elect students to the Executive Committee and Student Judicial Committee.
Last year, all of the officer positions for the EC and SJC were uncontested, and only two elections for representatives garnered opposition, according to previous reporting by the Ring-tum Phi.
Abigail Huse, ’27, a member of the Student Election Commission (SEC), said that the organization worked to increase student participation this year.
“We decreased the amount of signatures required to run for a position,” she said. “We also offered free Chick-fil-A to anyone who voted.”
The SEC held a candidate information session on March 24. Attendance was required for all students running for a position. The candidates then submitted their petition signatures, biographies and photographs on March 29 and gave speeches at the candidate forum on March 31.
The SEC emailed candidates’ speeches to students who were unable to attend the forum.
Voting opened at 8 a.m. and closed at 8 p.m. on April 2. About three hours after polls closed, the student body received an email with the results for all positions except the two EC representatives for the class of 2028.
The SEC said a problem with the voting technology delayed the last two results.
“The SEC is currently working through technical difficulties regarding the Class of 2028 EC Representative race,” the commission wrote in an email to the student body. “We truly apologize for any stress this causes and are working to figure out a solution as soon as possible.”
The SEC sent the remaining results to the entire student body on April 6, along with a link to a Box folder containing the full vote breakdown.
John Beekman Youngblood, ’27, beat out Stepan Onyshchuk, ’27, and Zane Openshaw, ’27L, to become EC president. Youngblood will step into the role after serving as vice president this past year.
Youngblood said at the candidate forum that his three goals for his presidency are to unify the law and undergraduate communities, rebuild relationships between faculty and the EC and increase transparency.
“I am not here to maintain the Honor System as it stands today,” he said. “It is hard to argue that we don’t have glaring issues as it pertains to the differences in understanding, the participation and, frankly, the pride in our Honor System, specifically concerning the difference between law students and undergraduates.”
Youngblood said he supports the single sanction of expulsion for all Honor System violations and thinks academic misconduct would exponentially increase if the single sanction was removed.
Yoong Wen Chong, ’28, won against Emmie Amason, ’27, in the race for vice president. Chong has served for the past two years as his class’s representative on the EC.
Chong said he has seen inefficiencies accumulate throughout the budgeting process in his past two years on the EC. He plans to prioritize equitable funding for all clubs regardless of size.
“Every club gets 10 minutes for budgeting, but some clubs ask for $500 while other clubs ask for $50,000,” he said at the candidate forum. “This creates a problem. Small clubs are scrutinized too much and large clubs are scrutinized too little.”
Last year, the races for EC president and vice president were uncontested. The Phi asked for voter participation numbers from the SEC, but the commission did not share the number of votes with the public last year because the races were uncontested.
Of the eleven EC races, the only uncontested position was secretary, which Maria Jose Perez Aguirre, ’27, will fill next year.
About 61% of first-years voted in this election cycle. Six first-years ran for EC representative, and three ran for SJC representative. Reid Heaton and Evan McCauley won the election and will serve on the EC as representatives for the class of 2029.
“Community, opportunity and honor are the three things I will bring to the table as your representative on the Executive Committee,” Heaton said at the forum.
In her forum speech, McCauley described a time she cheated on a math text in sixth grade, but felt so guilty she had to go early to school the next day and confess to her teacher. “I will be committed to upholding honor, just as I have been since sixth grade, but now in a way that furthers the interests of the University and the students I represent,” she said.
About 52% of the sophomore class submitted votes for their EC representative. Three students ran to represent the undergraduate class of 2028 on the EC. Carter Whetstine and Samuel Worthy won the election.
Whetstine said at the forum that he wants the EC to feel more accessible. “I want to be someone who people actually feel comfortable reaching out to,” he said. “I don’t want to reinvent anything, I want to be reliable. I want to make sure everyone’s voice is heard.”
Worthy pointed out cracks in the system in his speech. “I am sure I am not the only one who has noticed that professors are doing less and less take-home tests, syllabi talk more about AI and a general sense of distrust wash over the community,” he said.
The race for the junior class was close, with only five votes between the first-place candidate and the third-place candidate. About 61% of the junior class voted. Clay Monohan, ’27, who received 83 votes and Richard Monk, ’27, who received 79 votes, will represent their class.
“I think W&L is at a pivotal moment in defining what our traditions mean for us and what they’ll be in the future,” Monk said at the candidate forum. He also said his two goals are to focus on budgeting for clubs and to get the senior class to engage in conversations with faculty and the new president about the Honor System.
Monohan also talked about budgeting, pointing to his experience as treasurer of Fancy Dress and his fraternity. He emphasized the need to strengthen professor relationships as well.
“As an EC member, my focus will be towards strengthening the relationship with the school’s faculty and administration,” Monohan said. “For the honor system to function effectively, more than just the students must admit to upholding it.”
He proposed delegating different EC representatives to each department on campus so the faculty and EC can have a more direct line of communication.
The SJC has struggled to fill positions in the past. Last semester, they held a special election to fill two vacant seats after no seniors ran to represent the class of 2026 and no law students ran to represent the law class of 2026. This year, a few of the races went uncontested, but the SJC was able to fill every position without holding any special elections.
Rebecca Vaught, ’27, became the SJC chair, and Malachi Zarahn, ’28, will be the SJC secretary — both ran unopposed. Caroline Mould, ’29, beat out two other candidates to become the sophomore justice of the SJC after representing her class as freshman justice this past year. Jordan Schwab, ’28, was elected junior justice and Emily Scaff, ’27, will become the senior justice. Schwab and Scaff both ran without opposition.
All of the SJC’s law school positions were also uncontested. Gene McCoy, ’28L, and Thomas Rogers, ’27L, will represent their respective classes, and Henry Rodriguez, ’27L, will be the at-large representative.
Many SJC candidates at the forum emphasized the importance of the student body knowing what the SJC is and what they do, especially since the SJC can only act on something if they receive a complaint.
According to the SJC website, the committee investigates and adjudicates complaints of alleged student misconduct, with the exception of cases involving dishonorable acts such as lying, cheating, stealing or other breaches of trust, which fall under the jurisdiction of the EC.
Cases involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation or sexual misconduct are handled by the Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Board, while hazing, hazing-related retaliation and other fraternity policy violations fall under the jurisdiction of the Interfraternity Council.
Preserving the single sanction and the relationship between the undergraduate community and the law school were big topics of discussion at the candidate forum this year. Many students acknowledged the tension between the two schools.
Youngblood said one of his main priorities as president will be to unify the two schools.
Openshaw, the only law school student to run for EC President, said he was willing to risk his own popularity as a law student to uphold the honor code in his speech at the forum. He said he supports a single sanction Honor System because there is a multi-sanction system through the SJC.
Other law students running for class representative positions disagreed. Zach Bradley, ’28L, said that many students in his class do not believe in the single sanction and he supports greater proportionality.
Ben Kasierski, ’28L, beat Bradley and will serve as the law class of 2028 representative. He said he aims to uphold equity, authority and support.
Zachary Gallagher, ’27L, was vocal about wanting to preserve the single sanction at the candidate forum.
“At a time when many of my peers would segregate themselves and create their own Honor System, separate from the undergrads,” he said, “I see the current moment as an opportunity to unite both law students and undergrads.”
Gallagher lost to Charles Hobby, ’27L, in the race to represent the law class of 2027. Hobby also addressed the “lack of communication between the front and back of campus” in his speech at the forum, saying that he wants to establish more direct lines of communication.
The new officers will step into their positions on April 27, the first day of spring term.
