On the morning of April 17, the current executive board of DePauw Student Government released the election results for the 2026-2027 academic year. Candidates spent the past weeks appealing to the DePauw campus community through social media and tabling events, sharing their goals and commitments and encouraging people to vote. Every candidate worked hard to prepare for the elections, each expressing their own personal motivations for wanting to improve student and community life at DePauw.

The 2026-2027 student government executive board is as follows:

• Annie Esterline ‘27 has been elected DSG president with Imer Holman ‘28 as executive vice president.
• Metzli Hernandez Villalba ‘28 will be the vice president of student life.
• Jacob Zerull ‘29 will become the new vice president of allocations.
• Amonis Overstreet ‘29 and Temitope Samuel Olaosebikan ‘29 have been elected as the sophomore senators.
• Jenna Newton ‘26 will be the graduate member of the Board of Trustees.
• Emme Rooney ‘26 will be a member of the GOLD Alumni Board.

On the DSG Instagram page, several candidates shared their intentions for these positions. Esterline spoke of her skills in administrative roles as well as her involvement in various sectors of DePauw, such as the Creative School, the Honor Scholar Program and the Management Fellows Program, that would help her represent several facets of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She wants to focus on campus communities to build a greater awareness of student organizations and also create space for civil discourse on campus. 

“We can’t support each other if we don’t know what’s going on,” Esterline said. Adding on to these goals, Holman expressed support for Esterline’s goals, saying his role is to “support the president in the way of being unified as the team.” Holman emphasized that as leaders, they must put the students first. “We are only a representation of the students,” Holman said. “It’s important that we become part of the culture of DePauw.”

Graduate Trustee Member-elect Newton shared similar sentiments, stating that her goals focus on community, transparency and connection. She wants to continue to be a voice for student organizations and the Greencastle community, while also creating “new mentor opportunities for students.” She aims to use this position to hear different perspectives and voices, using her skills as someone well-versed and connected through her campus involvement. Similarly, Rooney, now part of the GOLD Alumni Board, wants to ensure that the DePauw community feels the connection to alumni and the established DePauw network. She is striving to build associations between the legacy of DePauw and its students. “The world is not going to change if you elect one person to one seat,” Rooney said. “However, you should be electing people who you believe represent you and have the leadership capacities to prove and delegate your interests.”

Vice President of Allocations-elect Zerull also shared his opinions about the position. He prioritized talking with as many people as he could, making an effort to connect with the campus directly. The allocations board aligned with Zerull’s interests, and he expressed a desire to use this position to create relations with student organizations and better understand what happens across campus. He not only wants to engage with the student body but also ensure that everyone has an understanding of how funding works. “As VP of Allocations, I plan to bring greater clarity to the allocations guidelines while also educating and working with treasurers to help them implement their visions for their club events,” Zerull said. “I want to promote and incentivize collaboration across student organizations. I strongly believe that cross-organization collaboration boosts the effectiveness of events and promotes a more unified student life.”

Benjamin DeBaltzo ‘27, candidate for DSG president who ran with Kameron Bailey ‘27 as his executive vice president, talked about how the pair had been running since their freshman year, driven by the potential to serve the DePauw community and ensure that the students’ voices were heard and turned into positive action. DeBaltzo shared that during his internship, he went back and forth to campaign and connect with students, totalling 36 hours on the road during the election process.

“Of course the loss is hard on Kam and I,” DeBaltzo said after the results came out. “During our campaign we refused to make false promises or disparage our opponents. Although we lost, we wouldn’t have run our campaign any other way. We’re proud of the work we’ve done and hope the next administration can serve the student body effectively. Our work doesn’t end with the election. We are still committed to serving and engaging the DePauw community, whether that be assisting the new administration or through other organizations on campus.”

With the new 2026-2027 DSG Executive Board, students are encouraged to reach out and get involved so that their voices are heard. Every elected candidate has made promises to improve student representation, so the first step is making those connections. As the year comes to a close, the current board has released a feedback survey form for people to offer suggestions or any kind of advice for them to improve student government for the students of DePauw. The form can be found in an email DSG sent out to the student body and on flyers placed in campus buildings.