The annual Cluster Co-President and Cluster Representative elections were held on April 3rd. Following a round of student voting, the 2026-2027 Cluster Co-Presidents were announced: Kachi Ikekpeazu ’27 and Oumou Bah ’27 for Flagstaff (FLG), Shiloh Robinson ’27 and George Richardson ’27 for West Quad South (WQS), Tyler Baty ’27 and Dolly Nguyen ’27 for West Quad North (WQN), Mwaita Nyakujarah ’27 and Jonathan Oh ’27 for Abbot (ABB), and Tomas Tejapaibul ’27 and Genie Han ’27 for Pike Knoll (PKN).
Abbot’s Co-President-elect Nyakujarah described how her experience complements that of her co-president-elect Oh.
“I experienced the lowerclassmen dorm life in Abbot, having lived in Double Brick [House], whereas Jonathan has experienced what it’s like to live in a stack… We have different perspectives and different experiences to know how to lead Abbot next year, because we know about Abbot’s different needs,” said Nyakujarah.
Cluster Co-Presidents return to campus early for leadership training and to help prepare for new student orientation and start implementing their initiatives. FLG Co-President-elect Bah emphasized the importance of creating events that cater to students’ needs.
“We know specifically during finals week, people could be down, people can be demotivated. I know I order a lot during finals week because I’m very stressed. We’re trying to implement surprise munches. [We would] pull up to all the dorms with Dean Washington [Flagstaff Cluster Dean] and surprise each dorm with pizzas to uplift,” said Bah.
Cluster-sponsored events, such as Casino Night and Abbot Cabaret, tend to have a large attendance. WQN Co-President-elect Nguyen said that she hopes to build that energy in her cluster.
“Because of our location on campus, we’re somewhat separated from school life, and I want to rebuild that connection. We have Quad Night, which everyone looks forward to, but we also have another initiative planned for the spring to keep the spirit going throughout the entire year. I really loved it during the fall of this year. It was really lively and fun, especially since it’s at the beginning of the year when people don’t have as much work,” said Nguyen.
Nguyen continued, “We want to create [another] event, [WQN Carnival,] because West Quad North doesn’t have a signature cluster event the way other clusters do. West Quad South has Casino Night, Pine Knoll has their event, Flagstaff has the Halloween Dance…We didn’t have something that embodies who we are.”
Richardson, WQS cluster Co-president-elect, reflected on WQS’s current Co-Presidents and how they created a warm welcome for incoming students.
“Lilly [Hall ’26] and Maya [Swanson ’26] have done an amazing job opening the barn up to the WQS community and really honing in on what makes this cluster special. One thing Dean Weissbach [WQS Cluster Dean] brought up was releasing WQS merch, and that is our number one priority stepping into the role of Cluster Co-Presidents,” said Richardson.
Richardson described his motivation to create long-term relationships as WQS’s Co-President.
“As much as I’d love things like the Seasonal Battle of the Quads or the Mini Pep Rally before Cluster Olympics to live on, what I hope most is that the relationships we’ve built throughout our time here last. I know it’s cliché to say, but community building is our number one priority, so above anything else, I’d want the tight-knit community we’ve worked to cultivate to be what endures,” said Richardson.
Editor’s note: Kachi Ikekpeazu is a Business Manager for The Phillipian.
