AAS E-Board Candidate Statements for 2026-2027

The Association of Amherst Students (AAS) will hold executive board elections from 12 pm EST Friday, April 10, to 12 pm EST on Saturday, April 11. The students below have announced their candidacies for these elections. Students who are interested in hearing from these candidates should attend Speech Night in the Cole Assembly Room (Red Room) in Converse Hall on Wednesday, April 8, at 8:30 pm.

All candidates are listed by position then alphabetically by last name. If the statements end in ellipses, it is because they have been shortened to fit the 200-word limit. Statements have been edited in accordance with AP Style.

President

Rizwan Ayub ’27

What’s Good Dogs, It’s Riz, I’m a senator, and I am running to be your next AAS President! When I first ran for senate, I made a simple promise: “Riz can handle the Biz!” What has that meant?

• I’ve brought you three successful Amherst Got Talents, two Easter Egg Hunts, the AAS Careers Database, and countless others.
• I have maintained a perfect attendance record over my 2 ½ years on senate.
• I fought against proposed policies that would’ve harmed first-generation/low-income students in the Committee on Educational Policy and actively called out admin in my Amherst Student articles.

What does “Riz can handle the Biz” mean now?

• I’ll be the first non-neurotypical AAS President and ensure that students with disabilities’ voices are heard at every meeting!
• I will work with the Center for Community Engagement to make off-campus volunteer opportunities more accessible.
• I’ll get an AAS MailChimp so that AAS sends only one email a week, not six.
• I’ll continue to bring back old traditions like the Pindar Field Dinners, scheduled for October 2026.

I will be a president who will work with the administration, not for the administration. If you remember nothing, just remember to Have no fear, the … 

Charles Tufenkji ’28

AAS is broken. A student government’s main responsibility is advocacy, but at Amherst, we just bankroll events and send you emails. We don’t advocate for you the way you deserve.

 The president’s roles are setting the tone of the year and bringing student concerns to admin. That starts with shifting AAS toward real advocacy. Instead of expecting you to show up on Monday at 8:30 p.m., we should be seeking you out by tabling every Monday afternoon so senators enter meetings with a clear understanding of your priorities. As president, I would then bring those concerns directly to the admin every week.

 We spend money on projects students didn’t ask for. Money that could/should go toward things students actually want, like Adobe and quality-of-life improvements. We should be much more responsible with how we manage our funds.

 We also misuse our mailing lists. We send so many emails that they feel like spam and get ignored. We should send way fewer, way more meaningful updates that respect your time.

 Lots has to change before AAS becomes a group you can be proud of, and the president should guide it to that better future. Help me fix an … 

Vice President

Joey Supik ’27

Hi everyone, my name is Joey Supik. As a junior senator for almost two years, I’ve learned a lot about how AAS has succeeded and failed in representing our student body. The association is dysfunctional, and I want to be part of the change in AAS that we all deserve. As vice president, I would be confident working with all AAS members to maximize their efficiency and form an AAS that is present and representative of the community.

My initiatives include:

• Reimplementing and reworking the Senate Binder: a document that showcases proper senate procedure and important administrative information for projects and establishing relationships.
• Forming proper AAS drop-in hours, weekly tabling, and general e-board-hosted events for students.
• Spending the summer ensuring the Student Center transition is as smooth as possible and documenting any issues to bring to the administration.

To hear more about mine and Charles’ combined vision for AAS, look at our Instagram @joeyandcharles2026, attend our tabling events inside Val (April 8, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., April 10,  10 a.m. to 12 p.m.), or email [email protected]/[email protected]. 

For Accountability and Accessibility in AAS, vote Joey and Charles for VP … 

Treasurer

Mikka Wolff ’27

I cry when I see a dollar misused. Yet, we have seen hundreds of thousands disappear into flunked centrally planned events and redundant offices that rarely meaningfully impact students. Meanwhile, students leave certified bangers like Night Market hungry, and the college bulldozed our life-changing Arabic program without warning.

These mistakes happen because our most important budgetary decisions hang in the educated guesses of executives and trustees who only have a pinhole view of students’ lives. As a result, expenditures on executives and the administration steadily increased for decades while spending on the muscle of our college — professors — flatlined relative to inflation. When the budget is tight, everyone should struggle to choose between a qualitative-learning advisor and an Arabic professor. But to administrators far removed from these corners of student life, such comparisons are particularly intangible. 

We can’t derive the dollar value of every service. But we can build a better system. As treasurer in a turbulent economy, I will develop a comprehensive, data-based approach to budgetary prioritization: student surveys, service-usage data, and lottocratic student focus groups to critique and reform underperforming resources. These reforms will minimize unnecessary damage in recessions and make us reinvest in our professors when markets are strong.

Secretary

Micah Scott ’29

Hi everybody! I’m Micah, and I’m running to be your AAS secretary. Over the past year, I've worked hard to ensure that students have the best possible experience with campus programs and services. One way I've done this is through my work on the Budgetary Committee, where I've helped secure funding for campus clubs and groups. I've also launched a pilot laundry collection basket program, which I hope to expand to the entire campus next year. I want to bring that same dedication and passion to the role of secretary. 

The AAS secretary serves many functions, but its overarching goal is transparency and efficient communication. You deserve a student government that includes and informs its student body, without sending them a million emails a day. It will be my focus to ensure that AAS, including myself, is transparent and held accountable. Whether it is guaranteeing open access to senate records or championing the students who give their time to our committees, my deepest commitment is to forge a real, lasting connection between AAS and the student body it exists to serve. A government that does not hold the trust of those it represents is no government at all.

Beckett Lawrence-Apfelbaum ’29

Hey! I’m Beckett, running to be your AAS secretary. I’ve spent a year in senate, where I’ve delivered resources to help you be productive (getting access to Bricks), served on Judiciary Council, and pushed for constitutional changes to improve the committee system.

Here are my 2 main goals as secretary:

1. Revamp AAS committees: AAS has 25+ committees, and I’m betting you haven’t heard about most of them — much less see them actually impact student life. I have already pushed for constitutional change enabling more student oversight and eboard powers over the committees. If elected, I would use my voice on the e-board to further push these committees to actually work the way they should.
2. Less emails: I want to de-clutter your email inboxes by grouping senate updates in an improved weekly newsletter. No more starting your weeks with a flooded inbox of random proposals. The newsletter would also contain links to key AAS resources, including meeting attendance (so you can check if your senators are actually working!), the minutes of that week’s senate meeting, and more.

If you support these ideas, vote for Beckett this Friday!

Judiciary Council Chair

Chloe Lee ’28

Hello everyone! As the Judiciary Council (JC) Chair this past year, I have worked to improve and clarify processes regarding registered student organizations and the constitution and bylaws. After seeing the ways that the Registered Student Organization process could be improved, I have had conversations with Student Engagement and Leadership, have involved the Judiciary Council in those conversations, and will continue to work toward improving that process as JC Chair. Furthermore, I began the initiative to make larger changes to the constitution and bylaws as a result of hearing many concerns and complaints from students about its structure and content. While I have done my best to promote transparency by publishing agendas and JC decisions, I believe that there is still more work to be done to help connect the student body with the operations that AAS is meant to fulfill, which is what I plan to do as the JC Chair for the upcoming year. Vote Chloe Lee!