Polls for Yale College Council elections open today at 8 a.m.
Undergraduates can cast their votes on Yale Connect until Friday, April 11, at 9 p.m. Students will elect the YCC president and vice president, events director, residential college senators and presidents for the junior and sophomore classes.
The News spoke with candidates about their experiences, platforms and visions for the upcoming year.
Three tickets for president and vice president
Andrew Boanoh ’27 and Jalen Bradley ’27
YCC presidential candidate Andrew Boanoh and vice presidential candidate Jalen Bradley are running on a platform of friendship, collective vision and loopholes. Together, they hope to redefine the nature of the Council to a more proactive, present body.
“I think that a lot of YCC proposals go past the administration,” Boanoh said. “What we are good at is finding loopholes within these ‘No’s’ and coming up with new ideas that circumvent that and find solutions to problems.” Read the full profile here.
Brian Moore ’26
Brian Moore is not your typical candidate for Yale College Council President. For one thing, Moore is a rising senior, running for a position which has traditionally been occupied by a junior. He’s also running a solo ticket in a race against two joint tickets.
But, perhaps most significantly, Moore has no experience in the YCC. He has never had a position as a YCC representative or as a director in its executive branch. In an election where candidates will often point to their own YCC record of bills and initiatives they undersigned, Moore instead points to his work in New Haven outreach organizations. Read the full profile.
Diego Paz ’27 and Emily Nguyen ’27
Prior to running on a shared ticket, presidential candidate Diego Paz and vice presidential candidate Emily Nguyen weren’t especially close. But this year, they have become one another’s complements — bonded by a commitment to holding the administration accountable for overlooking student voices.
Their shared platform has three prongs: inclusivity, amplify and accountability. They hope to address them using their experience in campus politics and affinity organizations. Read the full profile here.
Events director
Maggie Chen ’27 and Kingson Wills ’26
Maggie Chen and Kingson Wills are vying to become the next Yale College Council Events Director, a role that oversees campus-wide programming like class formals and new University-wide initiatives.
Wills and Chen both believe in the importance of events in creating community. But while Wills emphasized his goals of integrating Yalies into New Haven through events, Chen focused on her passion for ensuring that students feel a sense of belonging. Read the full profile here.
Sophomore Council president
While Julien Amsellem ’27 is running uncontested for Junior Class President, two student leaders with distinct visions for campus life are competing for the position of Sophomore Class President.
Micah Draper ’28, the current First-Year Class Council president, and Eugene Covington ’28, a former YCC events coordinator, are the two candidates vying for the sophomore presidency. Draper is running on a platform rooted in student engagement and building on his experience and track record, while Covington emphasizes inclusivity, transparency and reimagining events as a tool for advocacy. Read the full profile here.
Contact Olivia Cyrus at olivia.cyrus@yale.edu and Nora Moses at nora.moses@yale.edu.