Gallery • 4 Photos

uveer Daswani ’18

Editor’s note: In the print version, Ted Chisholm’s (’20) name was printed as Sasha Mochaida ’20. Mochaida was not pictured with the rest of the MCSG Executive Board.

Leading the way is Suveer Daswani ’18, who ran unopposed for MCSG president and swept his way to victory. Suveer was nearly elected last year, losing a close race to current MCSG president Merrit Stüven ’17.

Suveer, who has been involved with student government since his first year, said he was happy with the chance to lead. “I am undoubtedly humbled and excited to be elected as the 2017-18 MCSG president,” Suveer wrote in an email to The Mac Weekly.

Suveer highlighted three main goals he has for next year: renewing MCSG’s focus on students, making the Health and Wellness Center more accessible to students and continuing the work of this year’s student government – including picking up the baton for taking the school to test-optional status.

Suveer will be joined on the Executive Board next year by his twin sister Saakshi Daswani ’18, who was elected Academic Affairs Committee chair in a victory over rising sophomores Ted Chisholm ’20 and Natalie Luo ’20.

The vice president and Student Services and Relations Committee chair will be Ariana Hones ’18, who won a four-way race with just 261 first-place votes of the 736 votes cast.

Other winners include Salman Ahmed ’20 as Student Organization Committee chair, Michelle Buse ’18 as Program Board chair and Sasha Mochida ’20 — a write-in candidate — as Financial Affairs Committee chair.

Mochida’s unlikely success was attained with just 57 votes. She said she decided to run for the position after no candidates declared before the ballot’s release.

Mochida said she was surprised by her success.

“I’m stoked to be serving the Macalester community and representing the student body,” she said. “As a first year, I thought I’d just try out running for a student government position and starting a campaign, but didn’t expect anything from it.”

“It’s incredibly important for me to ensure that the voices and concerns of both international and domestic students of color are heard,” Mochida continued.

Class representative positions were also up for grabs in this week’s elections, with Dureti Doto and Eric Huang elected to represent the class of 2019, Yafiet Bezabih elected to represent the class of 2018, and Gabriella Gillespie and Shay Gingras elected to represent the class of 2017. The government will be filled out with first year class representative elections in September.

Low turnout was again a theme of the election process: only 750 of the roughly 2000 members of the Macalester student body voted for a candidate for MCSG president. Just 164 members of the rising senior class of just under 500 voted for senior class representative.

The low turnout is in keeping with past Executive Board elections, especially when the presidential race is uncontested.

Suveer, for one, said he does not care. Asked how long he has wanted to be MCSG President, he replied, “Since 1996.”

“This would have been impossible without all those who have supported me along the way — even in the smallest way possible — and I am truly grateful to each one of them,” Suveer said. “I look forward to working with all.”