LULA BURKE, Special to The Denisonian—Max Giarrusso ‘21 and Sarah Moon ‘22 will assume the respective positions of President and Vice President following the Denison Campus Governance Association’s (DCGA) annual election, held on Tuesday, August 28.
The candidates joined a moderated debate held over Zoom on August 27, where they answered questions about their platforms and tentative plans. Students had the chance to submit questions both in the days leading up to the event and in real time, directing them to election co-chairs Chris Linares ‘22 and Fatimah Elghazawi ‘21. Ballots were sent to students at 7 a.m. the next day.
A DCGA senator for the past three years, Giarrusso served on the Rules and Finance Committees before deciding to run for president. He said that this experience helped him connect with faculty members, especially those in the Office of Student Development, to improve student life on campus.
“I’ve used my position in DCGA to foster good relationships with administration, and as opposed to passing resolutions through DCGA, I’ve worked more directly with administration to create change on campus,” he said.
Giarrusso believes that this experience will help him implement the changes he hopes to make on campus. His platform emphasized a need for stronger commitments to antiracism, sexual respect, environmental sustainability, mental health and campus safety.
“Amid the social, political and economic unrest of the past seven months, I see incredible potential for positive and influential change,” Giarrusso said.
Moon has been involved with many of the same organizations as Giarrusso, collaborating with him as a class senator and as a member of the Rules Committee. During her tenure, she used her background as a Korean exchange student to emphasize the importance of community. She is now also studying remotely.
“I tried my best to not only represent the first year group, because I was the only first year student, but also an international student’s perspective,” she said. “As a Vice President, I promise to listen to diverse students’ voices, speak up for their concerns, and inspire other students in minority groups to step up as a campus leader.”
She also stressed the importance of making sure remote students feel included and empowered, which is something that has affected her personally as both an international student and a remote learner.
“As a student studying remotely with the 13 hour time difference, I first want to reach out to and listen to other students in different parts of the world who are struggling to study remotely,” she said.
According to the Election Co-Chairs, DCGA meetings for this year will be completely virtual. Sophomore, junior and senior campaigns for Senate will begin in early September, with freshman campaigns following later in the month.
