Student body president Elijah Jones and vice president Riley Evers have officially begun their term. The pair took their oaths of office at a meeting of the student senate on April 1.
Jones and Evers won the Feb. 4 student body election. They ran on a “policy-driven” platform, pledging to push more legislation through the student senate and reallocate budgets for additional club funding. In a hotly contested race, Jones and Evers defeated the opposing candidates Mason McCart and Luke Parikh with 54.29% of the vote. They described their reactions in an interview with The Observer just before assuming office.
“First, it was pure shock, and then immense gratitude,” Evers said. “I went to the Grotto that night and walked in front of the Dome, and it was just a very surreal moment … We had no idea how much support we truly had until we got those results, and that’s something that we’ll never forget.”
Jones said he was also surprised by the results. He said his expectations had been lowered by the fact that his campaign had fewer followers on Instagram than the McCart-Parikh campaign.
“It was amazing to see that many people were silently supporting us,” he said.
The pair attributed their victory to the presidential debate and vital outreach in the final days of the campaign.
“The Observer endorsement helped us out a lot … I think that endorsement swayed things in our favor,” Jones said. “We didn’t get endorsed by College Republicans, but we got College Democrats, and we actually showed up and talked to Knights of Columbus and Right to Life, which helped us out.”
With the start of his term, Jones highlighted several priorities for his new administration. According to Jones, his first steps will be to reinvigorate the campus life council, which passed its first resolution — calling on Notre Dame and South Bend to curb early lease signing practices for off-campus housing — in three years this February.
Jones said he would push the University to call a meeting of the council as quickly as possible.
Another priority for Jones is club funding reform. He says he would like to decrease student government’s operational budget and increase funding to student organizations across campus.
Before Jones and Evers assuming office, then student body president Jerry Vielhauer sent an email to students on March 31 thanking them for their support of his administration on behalf of himself, vice president Sonia Lumley and chief of staff Ethan Chiang. This was accompanied by an End of Term Report. The Observer interviewed Vielhauer before the turnover, who offered some thoughts on how he hoped students would remember his legacy and administration.
“I think that if they will remember me just for being a good person, being someone who is there for them and who is supportive, I think that means more than being remembered for any certain achievement,” he stated. “But I also do hope that people will remember our administration and student government as a whole. It does actually do things and does actually get work done for the student body.”
Vielhauer said he hoped that Jones’ administration would continue any ongoing initiatives from his term and further offered advice to the incoming student body president.
“It’s definitely important to be able to know how to delegate and how to spread out responsibilities … make sure you surround yourself with people who are passionate about what they’re doing,” he stated. “And having the mindset of service leadership. It’s really integral to this position … If you’re doing it to boost your resume or experience a leadership position, then it’s not going to go well … and make sure you’re building up that team around you that has that same attitude.”
Vielhauer expressed confidence in the administration succeeding his own. “I’m very excited for Elijah, Riley, Kaeleigh and their new administration, and very confident in their ability to find success and serve the student body,” he stated.
As inauguration day approached, finding the right cabinet picks was top of mind for Jones and Evers. After hiring a new chief of staff, junior Kaeleigh Picco, the trio conducted dozens of interviews to find new leaders for their executive cabinet.
“Our cabinet is an incredible mix of people. We have people who did FUEL this past year,” Evers said, referring the First Undergraduate Experience in Leadership program for freshmen run by student government.
“We have a couple of returners from past administrations, even stretching back to the Dawson administration,” she added, referencing 2024-25 president Dawson Kiser.
Evers said she also hopes to develop close personal relationships with members of the student senate and wants to see the body work more effective in the upcoming year. “I’m also looking forward to building the relationship between the senate and the executive cabinet … I want to get coffee with every senator,” she said.
