Harris and Gan Win UC Presidential Election

Noah A. Harris ’22 and Jenny Y. Gan ’22 will serve as president and vice president of Harvard’s Undergraduate Council next year, the UC Election Commission announced Thursday evening.

Harris and Gan both currently serve as representatives on the Council. Harris serves as Treasurer, Black caucus co-chair, and Dunster House representative; Gan chairs the First-Year Class Committee and is a representative from Leverett House. They will take office in December, replacing outgoing UC President James A. Mathew ’21 and Vice President Ifeoma E. “Ify” White-Thorpe ’21.

Harris and Gan defeated the other ticket on the ballot, presidential candidate Rukmini “Mini” Ganesh ’22 and vice presidential candidate Nicholas J. Brennan ’23. Under the Council’s Borda count voting system, Harris and Gan won 1,045 first-choice votes compared to Ganesh and Brennan’s 423 first-choice votes.

The UC Election Commission also announced that the lone referendum on the ballot this year passed by a wide margin. More than 84 percent of voters supported a proposal stating that “Harvard University should commit resources to encouraging course material sharing on an open-source platform.”

Harris and Gan ran on a platform highlighting diversity and inclusion, improvements to student life, and resources for health and wellness. In a previous interview with The Crimson, Harris and Gan pledged to help in “Building Tomorrow’s Harvard.” The campaign received endorsements from multiple organizations on campus, including several cultural affinity groups. One of their campaign promises was the creation of an “Advocacy Fund” to help finance student activist efforts. They also pledged to expand their Headspace program, which they piloted last semester, along with other initiatives aimed at improving students’ mental health.

—Staff writer Hannah J. Martinez can be contacted at hannah.martinez@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @martinezhannahj.