Toluwanimi Olaleye (24Ox) won the Oxford Student Government Association (OxSGA) presidential seat on April 10 in an election season marked by uncontested races. Olaleye received 82 (75.92%) of the 108 votes cast. Additionally, 26 (24.07%) students cast votes of no confidence, according to an email OxSGA sent to all Oxford College students.
Olaleye currently serves as a first-year senator. As OxSGA president, she wants to be a “strong and purposeful voice for the students of Oxford and lead passionately without fear.” Olaleye also told the Wheel she wants to improve club culture at Oxford by prioritizing new clubs and clubs actively participating on campus.
“We’re reviewing the current clubs that we do have on campus and seeing if we can downsize because some clubs are actively chartered, yet, they don’t do anything to benefit the Oxford community,” Olaleye said.
Olaleye noted that she will work on combating racism on the Oxford campus, citing the Oxford Student Activities Committee’s 1950s diner-themed event on March 28 as an example of racism at Oxford.
According to Olaleye, some Black students were uncomfortable with the event because many 1950s diners did not serve Black people. In the 1960s, Black protesters faced brutality during sit-ins at diners. Olaleye said she was subjected to racist remarks on YikYak after speaking out against the event.
“They called me an angry Black woman,” Olaleye said. “They said I hate white people, that I’m racist against white people and that I’m always angry.”
The Oxford quad sits at the heart of campus. Courtesy of Emory University
Owen Abeles (24Ox) won the OxSGA vice presidential election with 89 (82.4%) votes. Additionally, 19 (17.59%) students cast votes of no confidence, producing a total of 108 voters in the election.
Serving as a first-year senator this year, Abeles said he stands for “inclusivity, academic success, mental health, sustainability and having fun.” During an April 5 town hall, Abeles said he looks forward to improving club culture at Oxford, making campus more inclusive and enhancing OxSGA programming.
Abeles shared Olaleye’s opinion that Oxford’s club culture should be changed. As vice president, Abeles will serve as the chair of the Inter-Club Council, which he said is a community of different club presidents and other OxSGA members.
“We are going to work together to improve all different aspects of club culture here, things from diversity and inclusion, to things like engagement and creating a better community around clubs on campus,” Abeles said.
Another one of Abeles’ goals is to work on education reform by working with members of the Advising Support Center at Oxford. He said he wants to make learning at Oxford more cumulative, with classes building off each other.
Four candidates ran for the six available second-year senator positions, and they each won their races. Addie Travis (24Ox) received 75 (27.17%) votes, Ebony Woods (24Ox) received 71 (25.72%) votes, Emiliano Lara (24Ox) received 57 (20.65%) votes and Alyza Harris (24Ox) received 55 (19.92%) votes. In total, 18 (6.52%) students cast votes of no confidence.
One of Harris’ concerns is how many shuttles Oxford has for students, noting that students rely on the shuttles to participate in clubs or extracurricular activities on the Atlanta campus.
“I always find that it’s a struggle to basically fit everyone on the shuttles,” Harris said.
Harris also expressed concern about the dining hall hours, noting that sometimes no food is available at the Oxford Cafe.
Additionally, Rachel Krambeer (23Ox) won the race for College Council Oxford continuee legislator with 34 (91.89%) votes. Three (8.1%) students cast votes of no confidence.
Travis, Woods, Lara and Krambeer did not respond for comment by press time.
All of the races in the OxSGA elections were uncontested, which Harris said could be because the email announcing that students could declare candidacy only came out two weeks before voting.
Olaleye and Abeles agreed that the number of unopposed races is a sign that OxSGA needs to be more visible on campus and make more tangible changes that improve the student experience.
“In the future, there’s a much higher chance it will not be an unopposed election because we will bring more visibility to all of the things SGA is doing and make it a platform where change can happen,” Abeles said. “So over this next year, instead of there being an election where we run unopposed, it will be an election where people know what we’re doing.”
Managing Editor Madi Olivier (25C) contributed reporting.
Spencer Friedland (26C) is from Long Island, New York and is the Emory Wheel's Managing News Editor. He is a Philosophy, Politics and Law major and has a secondary major in Film. Spencer is also a part of the Franklin Fellows program at Emory.
