By Olivia Prather

With posters filling the walls and students campaigning across grade levels, this year’s Student Government elections turned the school into a hub of excitement and anticipation. On April 14, Declarations of Candidacy became available for 9th, 10th, and 11th graders who intended to run for Student Government. Students were required  to obtain ten signatures from their peers to be able to officially run for office, and these forms were due April 20th. There were eighteen 9th graders, ten 10th graders, six 11th graders, and seven candidates for the student body positions who ran for student government, and within days the hallways flooded with posters. It seemed as though each candidate posted hundreds of posters on the walls to promote themselves, and countless students described them as “overwhelming” or “extreme.” The candidates were committed to the election, and devoted themselves to doing their best to win over their class or the student body. The student body elections took place on Monday, April 27, and the class elections took place on Wednesday, April 30. Voting became available that Thursday, and all of the students were anticipating the results.

Returning to her position as senator for the Class of 2029, Demong says that she is “excited to be on Stugo again” and to continue her work with everyone. She says that it’s fun to go into the new year with a new set of ideas, put new changes in place, and keep going with good ideas that are in process. One thing that Demong is especially excited to create is an Instagram account for the Class of 2029 as a way to communicate with the class more, and she also wants to organize a field trip. In addition, Demong stated, “I want to focus more on addressing structural problems on campus, like overcrowding, and there not being enough spaces to study or hangout.” Demong also mentioned that she really loves her role in Student Government, because it is such a unique position in the school; she enjoys collaborating with other students and teachers on ideas to serve and improve the community in a positive way, and it allows her to have the power to make a difference. She reflected, “After last year, I learned new skills and realized what the people want. I know that everyone’s voices matter, but I love to be the one who gets to ensure that.”

Having been in Student Government since 8th grade, Estill says that he is looking forward to taking on the role of Student Body Vice President. He described the election process as “exciting,” saying, “It’s probably no longer than a two-week process, but it’s lots of fun.” Additionally, Estill stated that he chose to continue on student council because it was a “natural continuation” from middle school. He said, “I feel like it was pretty cool when I was in 7th grade, getting to see the work that the 8th graders did. I was lucky enough to be able to get in on it from the beginning.” He also recognized the effect that Student Government creates on the community, highlighting, “From the standpoint of my friends who didn’t join it until sophomore year, they feel like, especially in their class meetings, they like getting to see their representatives put on events and get stuff done. It sounds cheesy, but that makes my heart so warm when you say ‘thank you’, and I feel like that’s the reason we do it. We create real change.” Regarding his campaign, Estill noted that he wanted to highlight transparency. He values honesty, did not want to give any empty promises, and he exemplified his ability to listen and get things done. Moreover, Estill said he wanted to run for Student Body Vice President rather than Class President because he feels he can have a bigger impact and a greater capacity to create change.

Ultimately, the RCDS community is eager to see how much the student council achieves, and congratulations to the 2026-2027 Student Government!

2026-2027 Student Government

Class of 2029:

President: David Lusman

VP: Jeremy Choi

Senators: Audrey Demong, Carter Fishbach

Class of 2028:

President: Henry Burgess

VP: Jack Slovin

Senators: Sadie Kolodner, Georgina Murphy

Class of 2027:

President: Caroline Stronski

VP: John DeFlorio

Senators: Julia Burgess, Henry Harvey

Student Body:

President: Hank Brown ‘27

VP: Christopher Estill ‘28

Spirit reps: Paul Heintz ‘27, Octavius Viera ‘27