Duke Student Government senators confirmed their recently-elected first-year senators at their weekly Wednesday meeting.
DSG judiciary confirmed first-years Andy Li and Lila Gimbel as senators for academic affairs, Comfort Markwei and Greg Sexton for campus life, Aubteen Pour-Biazar and Shivani Vyas for Durham community affairs, Kora Sotunde for equity and outreach, and Isa Helton and Matthew Xu for services and sustainability.
The Class of 2026 voted for first-year senators from Oct. 5 at noon to Oct. 6 at noon, with 539 students participating — this yields a voter turnout of over 30%.
This year's first-year elections saw new reforms that sought to clarify the election process and increase DSG's transparency, including shadowing Senate meetings, observing committee meetings, and an increased number of information sessions. The election and at-large application deadlines were also pushed back.
In preparation for at-large senator applications, senators selected and confirmed sophomores Akhilesh Shivaramakrishnan, Talia Granick, Karen Xu and Brien Brennan as members of the Senate Selection Committee, which recommends students for at-large seats under the Senate by-law. The new members will join the DSG president, executive vice president, chief of staff, president pro tempore and the five vice presidents as committee members.
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Audrey Wang is a Trinity senior and data editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume. She was previously editor-in-chief for Volume 119.