On Wednesday, Feb. 4, Notre Dame students will elect new student government leaders. Per a Judicial Council email, two campaigns – the Jones-Evers and McCart-Parikh tickets – qualified for the ballot. In an interview with The Observer, Mason McCart, who is running for president, and Luke Parikh, who is running for vice president, discussed their platform ahead of the election.
McCart is a Dillon Hall junior double-majoring in marketing and film. His running mate, Parikh, is a sophomore finance and accounting major, also living Dillon. The pair expressed gratitude for the vibrant community and welcoming culture of Notre Dame’s student body, which they considered key motivations for their presidential run.
“Coming to Notre Dame, [student government] was something that I really wanted to get involved with, but I wasn't quite sure, because it was a very big and important role,” Parikh said. “But before 2025, I made up my mind … and I agreed to be [McCart's] running mate. The people make a place, and the people at Notre Dame are the best there are, and I want to just be able to serve them to the best of my ability and with whatever capacity I can.”
Although the two have not served in any elected positions, both McCart and Parikh have experience in the executive cabinet of student government. McCart has served as co-director of university policy and director of student life, while Parikh has worked as a committee member for the departments of communication and student life. McCart, who leads the ticket, considers this an essential criterion for student body president.
“I would say being the department director, you're able to see a lot and figure out what areas really need to be improved,” he said.
Parikh added that the relationships the pair built up during their time in the executive cabinet were also crucial qualifiers, claiming these connections would allow them to communicate effectively with administrators.
“In terms of feasibility, we've already built relationships with higher-up administrators. We even met with Fr. Jerry [Ollinger, vice president for student affairs] and the director of student affairs,” Parikh said. “So in terms of feasibility, I feel like what gives us a strength with our executive cabinet background is we know what can get passed.”
After announcing their run on Instagram, the McCart-Parikh campaign revealed a list of their policies and initiatives, running on a platform of “Quality and Accessibility,” describing themselves as largely in continuity with the Vielhauer administration.
“I don't think that there's a specific agenda that we're building off of, or that we're establishing ourselves. I think that our goal is to help the student body. I think that can be interpreted however you want,” McCart said. “But we're here to represent every single student, and we’re here to provide equitable resources for everyone.”
Among other policies, the McCart-Parikh policy platform included proposals to improve residential hall living conditions, implement a healthy snack subscription and establish free coffee in academic buildings. A new initiative the pair hope to establish during their time in office is a weekly office hour system. These would take place for three weeks each month and would be followed by a monthly town hall. McCart said this would help address what he considers a misperception – that the student government doesn’t get anything done.
“What would happen is all three of us would come together with the directors of the executive cabinet … We’d invite The Observer, as well as other media outlets,” Parikh said. “It's going to be open to the public so that people can hear and understand what we're going through and what we're doing.”
Beyond designating office hours, the McCart-Parikh ticket also intends to implement a mobile thrift store and provide free off-campus transportation to South Bend for Notre Dame students.
While McCart did not dive into specifics, he said that the mobile thrift store would be based on apps like Depop, which allow users to buy and sell fashion items, and that the logistics for a free off-campus transportation plan would have to be worked out with the University.
“I don't know if [student government] would be able to fund wholesale service … that's a pretty heavy task. For feasibility purposes, going through the University would definitely be the most proper route – within our budget, it's pretty limited,” Parikh said. “But the goal would be … to get money from endowments or other funds, from the University itself, rather than from the students or from student government.”
Regarding Notre Dame’s Catholic identity, the pair emphasized their intention to build on student government’s strong commitment to faith while also fostering an inclusive environment for non-Catholic members of the campus community.
“The department of faith has been doing a great job with the majority of the policies impacting and helping the campus Catholic identity,” McCart said. “We want to increase initiatives in that area, but it's also a department of faith. There are other faiths out there … so our goal would be to try and foster inclusivity in the environment for those people and to hear them out as well. 80% of this campus is Catholic, and that's the majority. We want to make sure everyone feels seen and heard within that 80% while helping the other 20%.”
Ultimately, the pair framed their passion and dedication to Notre Dame as the focal point of their campaign.
“I think that's very important as student representatives that we are as involved as possible in every single thing,” McCart said. “I think that Luke and I are really dedicated to the school. We’re really happy to be here. It's just an honor to even be considered for the role.”
