At 12:47 p.m. on Tuesday, April 6, voting closed for Pomona College’s 2023 ASPC elections. The winners were announced via email shortly after, announcing Pomona’s student body leaders for the upcoming 2023-2024 academic year.
Current ASPC President Vera Berger PO ‘23 said the new student body will bring a combination of fresh and experienced approaches.
“I’m excited that there’s a mix of students who are new and returning to Senate, so we can have some continuity for long-term projects and bring fresh perspectives to ASPC,” she told TSL via email.
Nathan Flores PO ‘26 is the new commissioner of equity and inclusion, and welcomes the chance to foster a community that becomes a “force of change” at Pomona.
“We are at a point in Pomona’s history where we can truly accelerate institutional change,” Flores told TSL via email. “I am also especially grateful to my opponents in the election because they both had incredible platforms that I hope to integrate into my visions for the year.“
Shoshi Henderson PO ‘25 won the race for ASPC’s next athletics commissioner, and shares Flores’ desire to center the community during her tenure with ASPC.
“My greatest goal for my new role is to represent all students and athletes to continue making the athletic community fun, inclusive and engaging,” she told TSL via email.
In addition to officeholder decisions, every Constitution change on the ballot was ratified. According to the email, these include:
- The standardization of [the] proportion of votes needed for various initiatives to pass.
- Limiting the committees of the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA) to three.
- Allowing North and South Campus Representatives to co-chair the Residence Hall Committee and Food Committee.
- Minute changes in the Constitution’s grammar, office and position titles.
Berger said that limiting the VPAA committees will “allow more students outside of [the] Senate to take part in institutional-level decision making about academics and allow the VPAA to sit on the committees that align best with their interests or expertise coming into the role.”
This year’s election turnout was 53 percent, or 901 students. Berger said this is above the mean (895 students) for the last decade, but that the number dropped from last year’s 1,085 voting students.
“Last year’s numbers may have been slightly higher because of the fossil fuel divestment and disclosure items on the ballot,” Berger said.
TSL congratulates the winners and wishes them luck! The results are as follows:
ASPC President — Timi Adelakun
Vice President of Finance — Daysi Manrique
Vice President of Student Affairs — Precious Omomofe
Vice President of Academic Affairs — Anna Wu
Commissioner of Athletics — Shoshi Henderson
Commissioner of Campus Events — Amarachi Aguwa
Commissioner of Equity and Inclusion — Nathan Flores
Commissioner of Facilities and Environment — Selene (Eli) Li
Commissioner of Wellness — Tara Mukund
Senior Class President — Zaid Al Zoubi
Junior Class President — Vidusshi Hingad
Sophomore Class President — Alyssa (Amy) Yao
At Large Student on the Trustee Student Affairs Committee — Miriam (Mimi) Anyagafu
At Large Student on the Trustee Finance Committee — Gianna Hutton
At Large Student on the Trustee Educational Quality Committee — Amara Mir