Incoming ASG Leaders Aim to Turn Election Energy Into Engagement

Bella Rene (left) and Laura DaCosta Locatelli (right) defend their campaign goals during the ASG Debate Night in Charney 104, April 28, 2026. (Elaine Zhang/The Santa Clara)

After a competitive Associated Student Government election cycle, Santa Clara University’s incoming student leaders say they are focused on turning campaign attention into long-term student engagement.

Laura DaCosta Locatelli ’27 and Bella Rene ’27 were elected ASG president and vice president, Addison Warhank ’28 was elected Senate chair, and Ethan Pessoa Jinian ’28 and Emerson Strub ’28 were elected sophomore senators, according to election results announced Thursday morning.

For DaCosta Locatelli and Rene, the election marked the beginning of what they hope will be a more visible and accessible year for ASG.

“It’s really exciting,” DaCosta Locatelli said. “Obviously, it’s been a very stressful few weeks for all the candidates involved, but I’m really excited to get started and really honored that people put this trust in Bella and I.”

DaCosta Locatelli said one benefit of the competitive race was that it brought more attention to student government, especially as ASG prepares to fill vacant positions.

“One byproduct of the past few weeks is that it gave ASG a lot more visibility,” DaCosta Locatelli said. “I’ve already had a few people reaching out and asking about ASG and showing interest in joining.”

Rene said their administration wants to build programs and an internal culture that continues after their term, pointing to affordability, equity and the proposed textbook exchange program as priorities.

“We want to create projects and just nurture a culture that lasts well beyond us,” Rene said.

Mateo Coulson ’28, who ran for president alongside Johnathan Amidi ’27, said he still hopes to remain involved in ASG after the loss.

“I still want to be involved in ASG,” Coulson said. “I’m not saying goodbye just yet.”

Coulson said he may pursue a judicial role in the fall before applying to serve as a senator later in the year. He also said he plans to continue working on parts of his campaign platform, including bringing guest speakers to campus and collaborating with DaCosta Locatelli and Rene on overlapping textbook-related proposals.

“I’ll definitely be moving forward with the policies themselves that I advocated for,” Coulson said.

Coulson said he felt misinformation circulated during the campaign, though he did not blame DaCosta Locatelli, Rene or their campaign for it. He said the experience showed him how difficult student elections can become.

“Elections are very taxing, like, on my physical and mental health,” Coulson said. “I didn’t realize that there’s going to be a lot of misinformation, sometimes hate, that comes along with it.”

Warhank, who ran uncontested for Senate chair, said the election process still helped her refine her goals for next year.

“Reflecting after Meet the Candidates, I had a better idea of exactly what steps I was going to take to achieve what I was doing,” Warhank said.

As Senate chair, Warhank said she hopes to fill vacant Senate positions, mentor new members and continue building a comfortable internal culture. She said she wants to follow the example of current Senate Chair Charlie Johnson, who she said “did such a good job at checking in and giving advice.”

“Being Senate chair, it is really important for me to be really comfortable speaking up and speaking in front of people,” Warhank said.

For the incoming sophomore senators, student outreach and campus life remain central priorities. Strub said she first joined ASG after hearing former Student Body President Claire Krebs speak during the class of 2029’s welcome events, and decided to get involved as a way to meet people and represent her class.

This year, Strub said she worked on dining-related concerns and collaborated with Pessoa Jinian on extending residence hall side door access. She said her approach as senator is guided by what students are already talking about.

“I think I mainly just listen to what people complain about and then try and fix that,” Strub said.

Pessoa Jinian said his motivation comes from seeing how senators can work directly with administrators to make changes. As a computer science engineering major planning to switch to mechanical engineering, he said collaboration is one skill he hopes to bring from engineering into ASG.

The side door policy remains one of the pair’s biggest projects. Pessoa Jinian said he and Strub worked with housing, Residence Life and Campus Safety to approve a pilot program extending residence hall side door access from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., with hopes of eventually pushing the time later.

“My proudest achievement in my time as freshman senator is absolutely the fact that we were able to work with housing and Residence Life and Campus Safety,” Pessoa Jinian said.

Both Strub and Pessoa Jinian said ASG still needs to make itself more visible to students. Strub said students often only pay attention to ASG during election season, while Pessoa Jinian said the organization has been slow to show students what resources it can offer.

Together, the incoming leaders said next year’s work will depend not only on campaign promises, but on whether ASG can convince more students that student government is a place where their concerns can be heard.