The Student Assembly announced the results of its Fall 2025 election on Tuesday. Out of 16 first-year and four transfer candidates running, four first-year and one transfer student were ultimately selected to represent their respective classes.
Voting started Monday, Nov. 3, and ended on Monday, Nov. 10.
The Sun compiled the newly elected representatives’ statements submitted to The Sun during the voting period.
Freshman Representatives
This year’s elected freshman representatives are Jai Anand ’29, Myshay Causey ’29, Arman Fard ’29 and Ellie Porter ’29.
In total, 1,493 votes were cast, representing a 39 percent participation rate. There was a 38.6 percent increase in total votes cast compared to the Fall 2024 Student Assembly elections. The election process used ranked-choice voting, and after 11 rounds of counting, Anand received 273 votes, Causey received 278 votes, Fard received 221 votes and Porter received 230 votes.
In an email statement to The Sun, Anand outlined goals to fix inconsistent bathroom cleaning schedules in first-year dorms. He aims to “push for a fairer and more consistent system across North Campus” that adjusts to account for differences in usage patterns and students assigned per bathroom.
Anand plans to “keep a Google form open year-round so anyone can anonymously share questions, comments, concerns” with the Student Assembly.
Causey’s campaign highlighted mental health challenges faced by first-year students at Cornell. In an email statement to The Sun, she promised to “limit Cornell stressors (like unnecessary fees) and create more social events for freshmen to find their place on campus!”
“I promise to stay an assemblywoman that actively encourages students to speak out and tell me about their problems,” she wrote in the email statement.
Fard emphasized his main goal to “improve water quality and sustainability across campus” in an email statement to The Sun. He envisions a system to cycle out water fountain filters once dirty on a cost-effective, routine basis.
Fard noted that his “on-the-ground” campaign style has created genuine connections and communication channels that would help him better understand and represent the student body.
In an email statement to The Sun, Porter wrote that “students shouldn’t be paying a flat rate for housing or [Cornell Academic Materials Program] CAMP only to find that essentials like laundry and printing aren’t included.” She calls for the University to give students free allocated access to laundry and printing services.
“I will create spaces for dialogue by hosting town halls and instituting policies requiring other assembly members to do the same,” she wrote in the email statement.
Transfer Representative
This year’s elected transfer representative is Zachary Yabut ’28.
In total, 142 votes were cast, representing a 52.7 percent increase from last year and a 22.7 percent participation rate. After three rounds of tabulation, Yabut received 56 votes.
Slow package service centers were a focus of Yabut’s campaign. In an email statement to The Sun, he proposed “scheduled pick-up windows and fast lanes” featuring online check-ins to accelerate the package distribution process.
Yabut encourages students to reach out to him over Instagram, where he plans to keep students in the loop during Student Assembly meetings.
Update: November 11, 9:25p.m.: This article has been updated to include a bar graph of the vote for freshman representative and transfer representative.
Anant Srinivasan is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is a staff writer for the News department and can be reached at asrinivasan@cornellsun.com.
