Areias, Warren win 2021 USG election
Alexis Areias and Lucy Warren were elected as the next president and vice president of the Undergraduate Student Government, Anna Rodriguez, chair of the USG elections commission, announced at the Senate meeting Tuesday. The results will be finalized by the director of campus activities next week.
Areias, a junior majoring in political science, who served as a senator this past year, and Warren, a junior majoring in economics, who served as chief diversity officer of USG, captured 53.90% of the voter turnout, amassing 1,920 votes in total in the preliminary results, becoming the second ever female-female ticket in USC history to win the presidency and vice presidency. Over 3,500 votes were cast in this year’s presidential election over the three day voting period last week, marking a near 25% decrease in voter turnout compared to last year.
Areias and Warren defeated two other tickets. Other tickets included Shreya Chaudhary & Antonio Okeke, and Alexandra Gill & Del Wood. Chaudhary and Okeke received 928 votes, 26.30% of the voter turnout. Gill and Wood received 552 votes, 15.64% of the voter turnout. One hundred and forty seven voters abstained from voting in the presidential election.
As highlighted in their campaign, Areias’ and Warren’s agenda will focus on “Breaking Barriers” and “Prioritizing Inclusion”, bringing in the work of other “student advocates” to shape their platform. Their slogan, “Committed to showing up, determined to get it right,” represents the broader change they hope to bring to USG.
“We want to incorporate everyone’s voices into what is our action plan,” Warren said. “Through [meeting with USG members and cultural leaders] and taking our platform, we can really figure out the best possible way to move forward. But it starts by just building those relationships.”
All campaigns were run nearly entirely online –– except for the campaign photos that feature parts of campus –– pushing all candidates’ strategy into a digital-first platform. For Areias and Warren, their online presence consisted of Instagram infographics, a Spotify podcast, promotional videos and YouTube parodies, including their version of the Wired Autocomplete interview.
With one less ticket on the ballot than last year, their fight for the presidency may have been slightly easier but that didn’t undermine the struggles of garnering student support, especially with remote learning. The biggest stage for candidates to present their platform and answer the most pressing questions –– the debate, which was last held in the Wallis Annenberg Hall lobby –– was held over Zoom and livestreamed on Facebook.
Candidates met with individuals and groups for endorsements over Zoom as well. Areias and Warren received endorsements from Trojan Democrats, The Trojan Left, USC Challah for Hunger, Trojan Advocates for Political Progress and other student groups.
For Areias and Warren, this win comes at a crucial time. This is the first USG election since the resignations of former President Truman Fritz and former Vice President Rose Ritch over the summer after allegations of racial misconduct were highlighted by the Instagram account @black_at_usc. The incoming administration will also play a crucial role in the safe re-opening of campus, as USC opened several previously closed facilities this week and President Folt announced plans for a “full return to campus for the Fall semester.”
“What was so central to this campaign, and why we kind of framed it the way we did, is that Lucy and I were there through all of [the Truman/Fritz controversy],” Areias said. “We’ve seen the really high points in this organization, but we’ve also seen the low and I think that’s been huge in our perspective.”
Areias and Warren will be inaugurated later this spring along with the newly-elected group of Senators.
The 2021-2022 USG Senate will consist of Hana Li, Arie Abija, Nivea Krishnan, Ruben Romeo, Hunter Hinson, Matthew Ayala, Kevin Gutierrez, Tommy Nguyen, Russell Agustin, Diego Andrades, Devin Ayala and Brian Stowe.