On Tuesday, April 20, the freshman, sophomores, and juniors voted for the 2021-2022 Associated Student Body. Juniors Nikka Ahani, Marissa Bergquist, Ali Lewis, Katie Spencer, Sophia Dinelli, and Stella Jaunich were elected and will serve as next year’s ASB.

ASB officers are the leaders of the student council and organize student life activities, such as rallies and dances. After a school year with no in-person spirit events, helping all the classes boost their spirit is a priority for the incoming officers.

“I think we can definitely look forward to new ideas for the rallies, and since we haven’t been in school for a year and haven’t had any rallies, I think we will make sure that we make it top-notch,” explained Nikka Ahani.

The ASB officers lead all four classes, but next year they will have the added responsibility this year of teaching the incoming freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, who have never experienced many of the school’s traditions in person, what spirit looks like at NDB.

“My biggest thing for next year is going to be showing the underclassmen the ropes, because since the pandemic, especially now, the current sophomores missed out on Aquacades and a lot of rallies, and they don’t really know what a full year at Notre Dame is really like,” commented Sophia Dinelli. “It’s really important to pass on that legacy of rallies, dances, and Aquacades. They need to know how to do that for future years.”

Six candidates are elected for ASB, and later on, they will be assigned to their roles of President, Vice President, Director of Communications, Director of Athletics, Director of Spirit, and Director of Activities. Next year, the Vice President will also serve as the DEI Representative and will collaborate with the Anti-Racism Task Force to work towards diversity, equity, and inclusion in the community.

Typically, ASB candidates would put posters up in the school hallways in the weeks leading up to the election and would give speeches to the student body. This year, candidates created Instagram-story-sized digital posters and short videos which were shared with students and could also be shared on social media.

“I think it was hard just this whole year not being able to be in person and get to know people from other classes, or just be around people from our own class. It was a little hard to run, not knowing any of the freshmen or any of the sophomores really well,” said Ali Lewis. “You kind of had to use social media a little more or reach out in different ways to get to know people, so it was a little challenging.”

Now that ASB elections are complete, students are beginning to run for their class councils. Candidates’ campaign videos and posters are due on Wednesday, May 5, and elections will be held May 10-11.