To the Editor:
When I heard this familiar rallying cry at the Music City Bowl last New Year’s Eve, I replied as I always do alongside hundreds of proud Commodores with a wholehearted, “VU!” The fervor, pride, and unity that galvanized our campus last semester was an inspiring phenomenon that I hoped would be an unending attitude as opposed to a passing occurrence hinging on the success of one of our sports teams.
This ideal of campus unity beyond a football season was one of my main motivations in running for president of our student body. The concept of “One Vanderbilt” that my awesome running mate, Deno Saclarides, and our dedicated core team developed was predicated on striving for equity in quality of life on both sides
In the aftermath of a truly extraordinary campaign that incorporated clever YouTube videos; a creative website; a strong platform; the first-ever campaign rallies; hours of planning and painting; and even a theme song, I’m obviously disappointed because we did not achieve the electoral victory we sought. But the memory of our honorable, fun, electrifying, and innovative campaign fills me with pride and joy because we built a movement that galvanized students to participate in a process that they had never been part of before.
Thank you to all of our team and supporters who made the last month unforgettable. Although we lost an election, our cause has not perished. We can still strive to create the One Vanderbilt we envisioned and I know we can achieve it behind our very capable and dynamic president-elect and my friend, Wyatt Smith.
Neither my team nor I will be defined by one day's vote count, but instead we will be judged on our strength of character and hard work from this day onward. I still believe in VSG. Thursday’s loss did not defeat me, but rather it invigorated me to work harder, to grow from lessons learned, and to press on to the greater achievements of the future. You can count on me to continue fighting for a better Vanderbilt.
This “historic” election not only demonstrated that VSG matters, but that our VSG president can truly make a difference. As was noted during the debates and our meetings with students across the campus, there’s a lot of room for improvement. So, “Who am I wit?” I’m with Wyatt and Lori and I’m ready to support their administration and help them make Vanderbilt the best home possible for all of us. Deno and I encourage all of our supporters to join us as we take this first step in building One Vanderbilt.
On behalf of Deno, my campaign manager, and team, thank you for one of the most incredible months of my life. I am humbled and grateful for this enriching experience and am excited to continue to serve the school I love.
Fabiani Duarte
VSG Speaker of the Senate
Head Resident of
