Indian-American woman elected president of powerful Harvard University student body
An Indian-American woman has been elected as the president of the powerful student body of the prestigious Harvard University. Sruthi Palaniappan, 20, was elected as president of the Harvard University Undergraduate Council while her running mate Julia Huesa was elected as vice-president. Palaniappan said the duo planned to work on improving the Council's communication with the student body in their initial days in office.
Palaniappan stresses on bettering communication with students
"I think from the onset, better structuring the way we communicate with students is something that we need to already set the tone and plan for," Palaniappan said. "I think we are going to work on it before we even leave for break and just get off the ground running," she told Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper of the Ivy League research varsity.
Palaniappan-Huesa acquired nearly 41.5% votes against nearest opponent
Palaniappan and Huesa garnered nearly 41.5% of the votes as against their nearest opponent Nadine M Khoury and Arnav Agrawal, who received 26.6% of the votes. They ran their campaign under the slogan "Make Harvard home". The duo, a long-time member of the Undergraduate Council, is scheduled to take over from the outgoing President Catherine L Zhang '19 and Vice President Nicholas D Boucher.
Palaniappan's parents migrated from Chennai to US in 1992
Palaniappan's parents migrated to the United States from Chennai in 1992. The Indian-American was the youngest delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July 2016, according to an announcement by the Undergraduate Council Election Commission. She is currently the Council's Education Committee Chair.
