Five candidates have declared for this year’s Duke Student Government presidential election and three have declared for the executive vice president contest.
For president, this year’s candidates are Sean Bissell, Jamal Burns, Yemi Kolawole, Sabriyya Pate and Kristina Smith. All are juniors except Jamal Burns, who is a first-year. In the EVP race are juniors Alec Lintz and Kayla Thompson and sophomore Jake Hoberg.
The eight-candidate election field is significantly wider than last year’s, in which three candidates ran for president and the EVP race was uncontested.
The presidential candidates are looking to succeed outgoing President Riyanka Ganguly, a senior.
Presidential candidates
Bissell is DSG’s current vice president of academic affairs, and he previously served as a senator on that committee. He is an economics and political science double major from Blacksburg, Va.
Burns has not yet decided on a major, but is considering a double major in a science field and public policy. He’s the president of Pegram’s House Council, and serves on Mi Gente's first-year committee and the executive board of Duke's NAACP Chapter.
Kolawole currently serves as chief of staff for DSG and majors in biophysics, with a minor in visual media studies and a certificate in innovation and entrepreneurship. She is also the head of content for The Bridge and a resident assistant.
Pate has been DSG’s attorney general for two years and a columnist for The Chronicle for three years. She also serves as a co-chair of American Grand Strategy and a resident assistant. Her Program II major is "Conflict and Negotiation Studies."
Smith, a public policy major with an education minor, is the current vice president of services and sustainability. She is also a co-director for the Common Ground retreat and vice president for the Center for Race Relations.
EVP candidates
The EVP candidates are aiming to succeed outgoing EVP Kushal Kadakia, a junior.
Hoberg was elected to serve as a sophomore senator for services and sustainability for this school year and is studying environmental science and public policy. He is also involved in Duke Debate.
Lintz, a Ohio native, is a public policy major with a minor in political science and certificate in markets and management studies. He has served as DSG’s director of communications for the past two years.
Thompson, who currently serves as a senator for campus life, was the vice president for social culture her sophomore year. She is a biology major with a cell and molecular concentration and minors in Spanish and gender, sexuality and feminist studies.
The elections will be conducted electronically on March 8 and 9. Check back for profiles on all the candidates.
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