UC Welcomes New Members After All-Virtual Campaign Cycle

The Undergraduate Council Election Commission announced the results of this year’s general election on Friday, after a virtual campaign period unlike any in the body’s history.

The Council virtually welcomed the incoming 45 members to its ranks with introductions and an overview of procedural rules Sunday afternoon.

Oak Yard Representative Anant P. Rajan ’24 described how the election process differed from high school student body elections, in part because of social distancing requirements. He said he was “very active” in the GroupMe chat for the Class of 2024, promoting his candidacy using somewhat unconventional means.

“One thing a lot of upperclassmen and a lot of people told me about was the importance of name recognition,” Rajan said.

“I was known for making dad jokes and bad puns,” Rajan said. “I also just started learning guitar before I came to campus, so I brought it with me and made a couple of jingles and posted them in the GroupMe.”

Rajan said one of his strategies was forming a coalition with other freshmen running for office. Four out of the five members of the coalition went on to win seats on the Council, including Ivy Yard Representatives Tarina K. Ahuja ’24 and Arjun A. Akwei ’24, as well as Oak Yard Representative Craig W. McFarland Jr. ’24.

Eighty-six students declared candidacies for this year’s election cycle, marking an uptick of interest in serving on the Council for the first time in two years. Of the competitors, freshmen made up the largest share of candidates at 50, with 12 ultimately joining the Council as representatives of their respective Yards.

The new Council members are as follows:

Crimson Yard

Muriel M. Dol ’24

Lisa R. Mathew ’24

Shreya P. Nair ’24

Elm Yard

Emily “Emmy” M. Cho ’24

Edwin “Eddie” C. Jin ’24

Anant P. Rajan ’24

Oak Yard

Travis A. Johnson ’24

Craig W. McFarland Jr. ’24

Kimani E. Panthier ’24

Ivy Yard

Tarina K. Ahuja ’24

Arjun A. Akwei ’24

Daniella Berrospi ’24

Currier House

Jaron M. Zhou ’23

Eliot House

Michael J. Frim ’23

Nasser B. Marrakchi ’22

Kirkland House

Sheila De La Cruz ’22

Jacqueline F. Tubbs ’22

Angus Woods ’21

Leverett House

Jenny Y. Gan ’22

John “Jake” E. Leary III ’23

Blake D. Young ’22

Lowell House

Samyra C. Miller ’21

Michael “Thor” T. Larson ’21

David Y. Zhang ’23

Quincy House

Michael Y. Cheng ’22

Soyoun “Soy” Choi ’23

Evangelos Kassos ’23

Cabot House

Anjali Chakradhar ’23

Pallas Chou ’23

Brooke L. Livingston ’23

Mather House

Yousuf Bakshi ’23

Anusha Zaman ’23

Kevin Lin ’23

Adams House

Austin “Blake” B. Barclay ’22

Alexa C. Jordan ’23

Esther J. Xiang ’23

Pforzheimer House

Chang Yu ’22

Chloe E. V. Koulefianou ’23

Sarah Bolnick ’23

Dunster House

Ethan J. Johnstone ’23

Juan Venancio ’23

Winthrop House:

Fan F. Zhou ’21

Nicholas J. Brennan ’23

Shivani “Shivi” R. Aggarwal ’21

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