Cornell undergraduate students have the opportunity to select their next Student Assembly president for the 2026-2027 academic year. Voting opened at noon on Monday for the Spring 2026 election cycle, and students have until noon on April 27 to cast their online ballot, according to an email sent out by the Student Assembly.
The Sun spoke to the three presidential candidates to learn about their different visions for how to address concerns about improving transparency, follow-through with resolutions and student engagement with the body.
Find a complete list of all of the candidates running for all positions here.
All three of the presidential candidates are members of the Class of 2027 and have prior Assembly experience. They pointed to longstanding frustrations with the Assembly’s effectiveness and outlined priorities ranging from structural reform to expanded student services.
Zora deRham ’27 Seeks Third Term as Student Assembly President
By Emma Spindler
Serving as Assembly president for the past two years, Zora deRham ’27 said she hopes to build on existing initiatives while improving coordination between the Assembly and University administration.
“I’ve been honored to serve as Student Assembly President this past year,” deRham said. “There are plenty of projects that have been started, and I want to make sure I can see them to fruition.”
deRham pointed to her work collaborating on the Student Activity Fee as a key accomplishment during her presidency, emphasizing that the fee was not increased this year despite an initiative from the Assembly’s Finance Committee. She described her goal of advocating and negotiating within the Assembly for a reduced activity fee as an effort to improve “responsible management of student funds.”
When asked about criticism that the Assembly’s resolutions often stall during implementation, deRham said much of the work required to implement policy occurs beyond the public eye.
“A resolution is the initial germ of an idea, and many conversations have to happen behind the scenes after [it] is written and passed,” deRham said.
deRham described the Assembly as central to representing the broader undergraduate population and facilitating communication between students and administrators.
She also emphasized the importance of maintaining neutrality and consistency in leadership, particularly in her role as chair during Assembly meetings. As president, deRham chairs weekly Assembly meetings under Robert’s Rules of Order, where she is required to maintain neutrality during debate.
deRham also pointed to the internal dynamics of the Assembly as an area for improvement, citing a need for a more constructive and accountable working environment. She said that in some cases, social pressures within the body can affect how members engage with policy discussions.
“There’s an increasing … lack of care for decorum within the entire Assembly,” she said.
She added that she hopes to create a more constructive environment for construction within the body where members feel comfortable raising concerns and engaging more directly with the policymaking process.
deRham said her priorities for a potential third term focus on expanding the Assembly’s role in shaping Student and Campus Life policies.
She also pointed to a proposal in the works to allocate at least $80,000 of unused Assembly funds toward a new career development initiative, which would provide financial support for opportunities such as interviews and professional development.
Beyond policy priorities, deRham said her leadership style is centered on student representation and community-building. deRham also pointed to a sense of disconnection within the Cornell community, especially during the winter, as a key issue shaping her approach.
“I am a normal student… I just bring my best self as a student into my job every day,” she said, describing her perspective as grounded in her own experience navigating academics and campus life.
Looking ahead, deRham said she hopes students will see an increased visibility of the Assembly and that the body will have a stronger engagement with campus life.
“The student assembly exists in the cracks on campus,” she added. “It’s our job to be known, but not [to] showboat ourselves.”
Eeshaan Chaudhuri ’27 Calls for Structural Reform and Policy Accountability
By Emma Spindler
Eeshaan Chaudhuri ’27, undergraduate student representative and vice chair of operations on the University Assembly, said his campaign is focused on improving the effectiveness of the Student Assembly and restoring student trust in the body.
The University Assembly is a part of the University’s shared governance model and is composed of students, faculty and staff that address university-wide policy, while the Student Assembly is only made up of undergraduate students.
Chaudhuri previously served as the Brooks School representative on Student Assembly during his sophomore year.
Reflecting on that experience, he said it shaped his perspective on the Assembly’s effectiveness and informed his decision to run for president.
“If you go back to my sophomore year, I think my favorite thing to say at Student Assembly meetings was, ‘I hate Student Assembly,’” Chaudhuri said.
He described general frustration with the types of policies being proposed at the time, arguing that many lacked substantive planning or feasibility.
“As a student who studies policy every single day, I could just see that we were passing policies that had no chance of working,” he said.
When asked about concerns that Student Assembly resolutions often fail to produce tangible outcomes, Chaudhuri said the criticism is valid.
Chaudhuri pointed to his recent work towards funding campus health vending machines as an example of a policy initiative of his with direct impact. His proposal allocates $20,000 to expand access to items such as contraceptives, Narcan and over-the-counter medication across multiple South Campus and West Campus Residential Halls. The resolution has been sent to President Michael Kotlikoff.
He also described an effort to create free parking for students with Cornell Health appointments, which was ultimately unsuccessful due to federal privacy regulations related to medical information.
Chaudhuri said broader issues within the Assembly stem from a lack of follow-through and internal accountability.
“If you look at what [was] actually meaningfully accomplished this year … [it’s] very, very little,” he said.
He emphasized that improving outcomes requires more rigorous policy development and closer coordination with administrators before resolutions are passed. Chaudhuri said his platform focuses on increasing the effectiveness of Assembly initiatives by prioritizing policies that can be realistically implemented.
One of his primary proposals is the creation of a Student Bill of Rights, which would codify a set of academic standards for students, including policies on exam scheduling, syllabus transparency and access to grading information.
“There’s a lot of basic rights I think that we as students deserve, but they’re not coded into how our student body works,” he said.
He added that he has already begun discussions with faculty leadership on the proposal, describing it as a longer-term effort requiring coordination beyond the Assembly.
Chaudhuri also pointed to reforming Special Projects funding as a key priority, emphasizing the importance of directing resources toward initiatives that benefit the broader student body.
“I’ve been a really big advocate for making sure we’re funding responsibly for things that can affect all students altogether,” he said.
In addition, Chaudhuri said he hopes to expand opportunities for students to provide direct feedback on campus services, particularly dining, through interactive touch-screen systems that allow for real-time input, similar to those found in airports or public restrooms.
“Most importantly, I’m someone who really, really cares about public service… and I think this is a really amazing public service job that can do a whole lot of good,” he said.
Christian Flournoy ’27 Campaigns for a Unified Student Body
By Riya Devroy
Christian Flournoy ’27 has served in Student Assembly since his freshman year, and he currently sits as Executive Vice President, the second highest ranking position.
Flournoy said his top priorities as EVP have been increasing mental health resources for students, providing equitable access to special project funds and helping Cornell feel more like home for students.
“One thing that I really wanted to see done is that the University has a better response to death and loss for students,” Flournoy said. “There are not enough embedded therapists within the University.”
Cornell recently implemented the embedded therapy program, which is set to expand more, bolstered by a $20 million donation to establish the Certiale Center for Cornell Health. The University’s push for a better response to death and loss follows a period of heightened grief on campus, including five community losses in a single semester last year.
Flournoy said students feeling unheard by the University is the “single most important issue” undergraduate students face. He proposed the idea of “Your Cornell” as a solution to help Cornell students have more say in campus issues, a movement to increase student authority and help give students a voice through the Assembly.
“I keep harping on [about] this idea,” Flournoy said. “The connection between the students and the administration needs to improve.”
To bridge this gap, he proposes monthly, in-person meetings for students with the administration.
Additionally, Flournoy said that the Assembly’s job is to act as a bridge between students and the administration.
“We need to make sure Assembly members are doing more to get out there ... [by] actively listening to communities that we’re a part of as well,” Flournoy said.
Flournoy said, despite what he sees as shortcomings with the body, he believes the Assembly has an impact.
“I think one thing that’s misunderstood is that the things that we do have no impact. They do have impact, and personally, I think that I’ve actually seen them,” he said.
During his tenure, he helped pass a resolution to implement drug-testing kits and Narcan in residential halls, which was acknowledged by President Kotlikoff.
As an athlete on the Sprint Football team at Cornell, Flournoy said he has also personally worked with the Assembly to secure early enrollment for student athletes and Reserve Officers' Training Corps members.
According to Flournoy, the Assembly, as it stands, faces a structural issue.
He claimed that the lifecycle of a resolution is shorter than ever, meaning many of them fall short far before they get the chance to be implemented. Flournoy explained that the Assembly must become more disciplined, working out every minor detail and contingency before a vote is even cast. He hopes that by doing this, the Assembly can improve its resolution pass rate.
Additionally, Flournoy said that he has noticed a shift in the Assembly’s culture that he finds “deeply concerning.” Assembly meetings have often ended in screaming matches or hostile takeovers, Flournoy said.
He recognizes that the first step to improving the Assembly's functionality is improving the culture among current members.
“When we work as a cohesive body, that is when stuff gets done,” he said.
