We, as current and former student leaders at Northwestern, endorse Sky Patterson and Emily Ash for president and executive vice president of the student body.

We know that students are tired of Associated Student Government making vague promises to enact reforms and to promote equity across this campus. These pledges end up being nothing more than a ploy to receive votes. We want an end to this cycle of empty words.

That is why we are writing today to support the candidacy of Sky and Emily. From our experiences in leadership, we recognize that amplifying all students’ voices and giving them real choices in their NU experience cannot come from changing the bureaucratic intricacies of ASG, but from harnessing the resources and funds of NU and giving them to all students — regardless of their identities, backgrounds and experiences. Sky and Emily understand this and have demonstrated their ability to serve students time and time again.

This past year, Sky played an instrumental role in expanding the Books for Cats program to allow more students access to free textbooks, publishing NU’s first resource guide for creating gender-inclusive spaces and ensuring that a surplus of $10,000 in ASG funds went toward the Activities Scholarship Fund, which provides funding for low-income students to participate in campus life. Emily spearheaded the Improve NU Challenge, which gave students the opportunity to pitch their ideas directly to administrators and allocated over $12,000 to implement winning projects. Their records demonstrate their commitment to equity and real change, as well as their ability to uplift students’ voices and build broad coalitions.

We believe that Sky and Emily are the only candidates who have the experience, capacity and vision to turn their promises into action and ensure that ASG and NU work first and foremost for students.

They know that it’s time to correct the obscene cost of education for low-income and first-generation students. It’s time to build a campus that accepts students of all gender identities equally. It’s time to end discrimination in the classroom against marginalized students. It’s time to divest from gun manufacturers and build a University that doesn’t profit off of death. It’s time for students to be Unafraid to live and learn on this campus.

Signed,
52 student group leaders

Emily Zaniker, Rainbow Alliance Internal President
Michael Deneroff, ASG VP for Community Relations; ASB Exec Board Member
Kayla Reardon, Swipe Out Hunger (Co-Pres), STITCH (MM Editor)
Asha Sawhney, Former Director of Sexual Health and Assault Peer Educators, Co-President of the Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance
Jessica Collins, Compass mentor 2016-2017 and 2018-2019, Seed Senator 2016-2017
Rembrandt Otto-Meyer, Compass Mentor
Jamie Joeyen-Waldorf, Former President, Wildcats Advancing Total Campus Health (WATCH)
Jillian Gilburne, ASG Deputy Chief of Staff & Significant Others A Cappella
Spencer Colton, ASG Senator for Rainbow Alliance
Gabrielle Bienasz, EC member for PHA chapter. ASG senator for sexual health and advocacy coalition.
Nyle Arora, ASG Senator
Samuel Maude, STITCH
Liz McLaughlin, Significant Others A Cappella
Alena Prcela, SHAPE Secretary
Maggie Olson, Rainbow Alliance Publicity Chair
Meghan Reckmeyer, previous co-president of iGEM (International Gender Equality Movement)
Colin Clayton, Former SHAPE Communications Chair
Ellie Kroeger, PRVP of Gamma Phi Beta, Member of Significant Others, CUP Counselor
Danielle Hojnicki, President, Residence Hall Association
Sarah Rezko, Rainbow Alliance, External President
Christopher Mayorga, Member of SESP Diversity & Inclusion Committee
Ruiqi Chen, NBR Section Editor
Lars Benson, Common Cause Northwestern, ASG
Kim Sloan, President, Chapin Humanities RC
Joyce Kim, Supporter
Bassel Shanab, ASG Senator District 6
Jolie Boulos, Former PARC President, Peer Adviser, Former Mock Trial Outreach Chair
Mackenzie Eisen, Resident Assistant, President of Northwestern Undergraduate Philosophy Society, President of WiPhi
Sophia Danielle-Grenier, Supporter
Brock Colyar, Editor In Chief of the Queer Reader
Leo Wing, Director of External Affairs, A&O Productions
Julia Morgenstern, President, iGEM
Aneesa Johnson, President for Students for Justice in Palestine, External Relations Director for Arab Student Organization
Genevieve Kane, Student
Sarah Beckmann, Sorority member, club tennis, club rugby
Rachel Doherty, President of ZOOZ, Co-captain of NU Speech Team
Ian Kuo, Supporter
Amos Pomp, Student
Drew Thomas, Student
Chrissy Foo, Alpha Phi Omega VP of Service, SHAPE member
Matt Casler, Director of Education, NUCHR; Northwestern Gun Reform Project Organizer
Cara Lewis, Peer Advisor
Erin Claeys, SHAPE, ASG, Extreme Measures, WAVE
Samuel Berston, SHAPE Events Chair
Ryan Albelda, Eye to Eye Student Leader
Katherine Conte, ASG Senator
Jayleen James, LGBTQ Advisory Board
Sarayah Wright, Multi-Culti Filmmakers Collective, FMO, Black Arts Initiative
Edison Ureña-Yánez, Accruer of Clout
Rebecca Angoyar, Supporter
Siddhant Ahuja, Founder of Improve NU Challenge, SASA Outreach Chair, Project RISHI Co-Director of PR
Vishaal Mali, CEO of PedalCell