Nasrollahzadeh, Goyal Assume UC Leadership

Ava Nasrollahzadeh ’16 and Dhruv P. Goyal ’16 were officially sworn into their offices as Undergraduate Council president and vice president at the organization’s general meeting Sunday evening, marking the transition from the tenure of Gus A. Mayopoulos ’15 and Sietse K. Goffard ’15.

Before settling into a seat among the UC representatives and removing his trademark military jacket, Mayopoulos said that his time presiding over the student governing body was a yearlong journey from irreverent joke candidate to legitimate leader.

“I assumed I was walking into a room of people who hated me, and I may have been right. I may still be right. But it comes down to that you get out of this what you put in,” he said. “Sietse is more than a comrade: he’s become my best friend. It’s been an amazing experience.”

Goffard also praised his unlikely partner Mayopoulos and said that the year had been “a wild venture for both of us.” He said that he was initially nervous about joining the UC his freshman year, submitting and withdrawing his application twice.

“Although some of you may question if the UC is the right place for you, the ceiling of your influence is bounded only by the audacity of your dreams,” Goffard said to a standing ovation.

By Y. Kit Wu

After taking the oath of office on an iPad displaying the UC constitution, Nasrollahzadeh reiterated her pitch for the UC to continue as a “transformative, active body.”

“The UC cannot be reduced to that of a one-dimensional body for funding,” she said. “Instead, I urge us to foster constructive disruption. Let us create a disruption that is productive and innovative.”

Goyal said that the 50 percent turnout rate for the UC elections signaled a continued student confidence in the organization and promised to dedicate himself to fulfilling his campaign goals.

“My late grandfather always said, ‘Winning an election is only people showing confidence in your ideas. It’s the work that you do after the election that really, really counts,'” he said. “That’s something that I’ve taken to heart.”

Meghamsh Kanuparthy ’16 and Yasmin Z. Sachee '18 were re-elected as UC Treasurer and Secretary, respectively.

Also at Sunday’s meeting, Mayopoulos, Goffard, and Leah C. Singer ’16, chair of the UC finance committee, said that the college administration has approved a grant of $21,000 for the organization’s pilot “bridging and belonging” grant. That grant—which will be matched with UC funds to constitute a total of $42,000—will be used to support collaborative events between student groups that would not typically interact and to host weekly community dinners for small, diverse groups of students at local restaurants.