With class-wide bonding events on the horizon, the Classes of 2027 and 2028 are facing a leadership shortage: three of four Class Council positions remain vacant in each year, limiting the councils’ ability to fully function in the upcoming year.

Despite two rounds of special elections, no students ran to be secretary, treasurer, or vice president in either class. Currently, both councils have elected a president. In contrast, the Class of 2029 council has all positions filled.

The Class Council consists of four positions responsible for organizing class-wide bonding events and shaping the identity of their class, in comparison to College Government, which serves as the representative student body acting as liaison between students, faculty and administration. 

Emily Milfort ’27, the current Class Council co-President for the Class of 2027, will step down next year to serve as the Community Organizing and Inclusion Liaison (COIL), saying the workload involved in being on Class Council discourages students from running.

“It’s a full-time job without pay,” she said. “We are in charge of literally every single event for our class … Having [to do] all of that without [much] incentive makes a lot of people very hesitant to run.”

Milfort added that upperclassmen face more demanding schedules, making participation less feasible.

Shreya Singar ’27, who was the Class Council president in her first year during 2023-24, said students often prioritize activities that better align with their career goals.

“I didn’t run sophomore [and] junior [years] because I knew I would be really busy,” she said. “[People] are doing pre-professional stuff like internships or clubs that might be more directly relevant to what they want to do after college.”

Students also cited administrative barriers. Milfort described event planning as slow and restrictive, with approval processes that can take months and limit how budgets are used.

“There [are] so many rules … It can take you two months to plan one event,” she said. “It makes it really hard to host events. It disheartens people.”

She said that unclear role expectations and limited institutional support increase the burden.

“There’s not a lot of clarity in the job at all … They don’t really connect you with previous class councils to learn from them,” Milfort said. “There’s no pay, a lot of work and difficulty working with administration to actually do your job.”

Councils also struggle to recruit help beyond their executive boards.

“We often have to beg for volunteers,” Milfort said. “If you have an event and you need help, you have to find the help [yourself].”

Claire Pankros ’28, who served as the Class Council Secretary last year and President this year but is not running again, said that studying abroad further reduces participation. 

“They always have an issue with the junior year, because a lot of the officers go abroad,” she said. “So it just limited us from running again.”

Milfort also pointed to declining event attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic as a factor affecting reduced funding and participation.

“People used to be more involved,” Milford said. “Because people [no longer are] showing up, … each year the budget’s getting cut lower and lower.”

Milfort believes stronger institutional support and clearer messaging about the importance of Class Council could encourage more students to run.

“People sometimes can’t even separate Class Council from College Government. They don’t know the difference,” she said. “If the College did a better job of explaining what we do and the importance of what we do, it would make a difference.”

Contact the editor responsible for this article: Emily Kohler