Notre Dame elected its newest student body president on February 4 in a two-team ticket, choosing junior Elijah Jones and sophomore Riley Evers by a nine-point margin over junior Mason McCart and sophomore Luke Parikh. After the election, Jones told the Rover, “Riley and I are so grateful that over 1,500 Notre Dame students voted for us, and we’re committed to fighting for every student’s voice to be heard.”
On the eve of the student body presidential election, a small audience of 11 gathered in the Knights of Columbus Council Hall basement for the 2026 John Francis O’Hara Student Body Presidential Debate. The intended conversation between presidential candidates Jones and McCart became a question and answer session when McCart did not show up for the event.
Last year, the Knights did not hold the debate when current student body president Jerry Vielhauer ran unopposed. Generally, the event provides an incisive look into how the candidates promise to promote the university’s Catholic mission.
During the Q&A, Jones was asked how he planned to support an increase in the Catholic character of the university. He replied, “I would want to be the student body president who prays.” Jones proposed having a different Bible verse in every student body president email, hosting learning Masses in the residence halls for people less familiar with the Mass, and promoting the Hallow app.
When asked how he would fight for the protection of all human life, Jones promised to attend the March for Life in 2027.
In response to a question regarding undergraduate families, Jones suggested improving RA training and collaborating with Notre Dame Right to Life in addition to working “with the Residential Life in the halls and on a more individual level.”
For residence halls, Jones proposed more community service and the creation of sustainability commissions within halls. Furthermore, he expressed plans to further promote GreeNDot training to combat sexual assault at Notre Dame. Jones emphasized his connections in Student Affairs and SAO to ensure that his plans run smoothly.
Junior Madison Denchfield, who attended the 2024 and 2026 debates, commented, “I love the Knights of Columbus Debate because—in my experience—candidates usually change their opinions on what they publicly say and what they say in the general student debate compared to the Knights of Columbus so that they can cater to specific audiences, and I like to hold candidates accountable to see what they actually think.”
Similarly, senior Sam Godinez told the Rover, “The Knights of Columbus debates offers all students, even outside members, the opportunity to engage with the candidates and ask questions in a more personal, informal setting.”
Taking care to note that his views do not necessarily reflect those of Council 1477, Knights Advocate Max McNiff remarked, “Personally, it was frustrating—as one of the moderators—that one of the candidates didn’t show, on account of the time that we had put in preparing.”
Grand Knight Bartosz Karol Chramiec expressed a similar sentiment to the Rover, stating, “I believe McCart’s absence, even after confirming his attendance, was disrespectful not only to our Council, but also to the other candidate and those who came to the debate wanting to listen to both sides.”
On the debate, Jones said, “I’m grateful to have been able to participate in the debate, and I want to say thank you to the Knights of Columbus for putting it on. I’d love to see future candidates continue the tradition, and I also want to say thank you to everyone who attended the debate and asked me questions afterwards.”
Charlie Kuhn is a freshman studying math. To give him a Q&A session, he can be reached at ckuhn3@nd.edu.