College Council (CC) passed a resolution to amend its elections code to allow candidates to run for multiple positions in future USG elections, including the elections on April 20–24, during its Monday meeting.
The rule prohibiting students from running for multiple positions was introduced last academic year, as a part of a larger overhaul of the USG Elections Code, and was approved by CC. Class of 2028 Representative Destiney Samare, who introduced the resolution, claimed that “this change was not made directly known to the College Council when it was approved, nor was it deliberated on by our body.”
To be eligible to run for a position in USG, students must collect signatures and file a petition to USG. To be eligible for CC, students must gather 25 signatures from members of their class. To run for a vice president or liaison position, students must gather 100 signatures from UChicago students.
The resolution also extends the deadline for students to file petitions for the spring election from April 1–5, to give students who want to run for multiple positions an opportunity to file their candidacies.
Class of 2029 Representative Gavin Wynn spoke after CC voted to end the discussion period, without the required recognition of CC Chair Ben Fica before the vote.
Fica repeatedly told Wynn, “You are not recognized,” until he stopped speaking.
The resolution needed a three-fourths majority of present members to vote in favor to amend the USG Elections code and was passed with 13 votes in favor and three abstentions.
“No one who sponsored the resolution, nor the person who helped draft it, will be running for concurrent positions in student government,” Samare said. “This resolution comes from genuine concerns in righting the previous wrongs of student government as soon as possible, even if it means acknowledging that we made mistakes on our end in not reviewing documents thoroughly in the past.”
Samare is running alongside Representatives Kevin Guo (Class of 2027), Aaron Horowitz (Class of 2029), Audrey Krajewski (Class of 2029), Aidan Keesler (Class of 2028), and third-year Yero Diamanka for positions in the USG Cabinet on the CORE Collective slate. Only Horowitz will be running concurrently for CC and a USG Cabinet position, according to the CORE Collective.
“The previous rule of multiple positions being allowed has been an institutional precedent in student government elections,” Samare said. “Allowing for this rule to be reverted back to its original state as soon as possible benefits any and all members of the student body who choose to run for office, both now and in the future.”
CC also passed the CLEAR Act, introduced by Class of 2026 Representative William Kimani, which will require USG to publicly release how much funding each Registered Student Organization (RSO) received for the previous academic year. It does not require USG to state how much RSOs receive for the current year, nor how RSOs spend their funding.
The resolution will also move all USG communications onto Slack and create a central repository for USG documents. USG members currently communicate through several different platforms. By centralizing documentation and communications, the resolution creates “good organizational hygiene” in USG, said Kimani.
The resolution was passed unanimously and will be implemented at the start of the next academic year.
“$2.5 million is no small amount, especially because that money comes from the students at the end of the day,” Kimani said. “Students need to know why certain activities that they want to do are not happening. why certain things are funded the way they are, and the report brings that clarity.”
College Council holds weekly public meetings in Stuart Hall 104 on Mondays at 7 p.m.
Editor’s note: Aaron Horowitz, a first-year College Council representative, is a current staff member of the Maroon. He had no involvement in the reporting of this story.
Interested / Apr 4, 2026 at 8:31 pm
Where can i find usg meeting transcripts?