Danielle Rugoff is a senior at University of Texas at Austin.

by Aviva Perlman

As one of approximately 52,000 students at the University of Texas at Austin (UT), it would have been very easy for Danielle Rugoff to fade into the background and get swallowed up by the motions of typical college life.

She did anything but.

As the current president of the UT student body and a member of several campus organizations--such as Hillel; AEPhi; Texans for Israel; The White Rose Society, a student group dedicated to Holocaust remembrance and genocide; and The Friar Society, the oldest and most prestigious honor society at UT--Rugoff’s impact on the UT campus is far reaching.

“If you told me a few years ago this is what I’d be doing, I never would have imagined it,” Rugoff said.

Although a Texas native, Rugoff, now a senior, did not initially intend to enroll at UT.
“I was very interested in George Washington University’s International Politics program and so I applied early decision and got in,” she said.

Soon after receiving her acceptance, developments within her family life made attending GW the following year questionable.  Despite her excitement, Rugoff decided it would be better to remain close to home and start off at a community college instead. 

“Not being able to go to GW was more of a mindset change then a severe disappointment,” she said.  “But, I’m definitely a big believer that everything happens for a reason.”

After transferring to UT for her sophomore year, Rugoff immediately got involved in organizations on campus.

It was through her involvement in Texans for Israel, the pro-Israel student organization at UT, and subsequent involvement in AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, that her interests in the campus student government (SG) were first piqued.

“My AIPAC field worker suggested I look into student government,” Rugoff said.  “ But it was actually my Jewish friend, Brandon Chicotsky, who got me involved.”

Rugoff and Chicotsky worked on three campaigns together where Israel was very much a focus. 

“It was very important for us to make sure, even though our platforms were not Jewish platforms, that we worked with leaders who were pro-Israel and talked to other campus leaders about issues concerning Israel,” Rugoff said.

After two unsuccessful student government campaigns, Rugoff learned from her mistakes and took a proactive approach to the next election where she would run for student body president.  “The day that I lost my second election, I started planning for the following year.”

But as she soon discovered, pre-planning can only get someone so far.

“As soon as I declared I was running for president, there was an anti-Semitic campaign run against me.”

Rather than pull out of the race, Rugoff saw this as an opportunity to create campus solidarity. 

With the help of representatives from several cultural campus organizations, including the presidents of the Muslim Student Association, Black Student Association and Indian Student Association, she was able to put together a strong coalition counter-campaign.

“We ended up sweeping the elections,” she said.  “46 out of 50 seats became ours.” 

Her experience running for student body president was not the first time she took action against hateful acts on campus.

After a friend and fellow UT student was attacked outside his Zeta Beta Tau fraternity house because he was Jewish, Rugoff created Keep UT Hate Free Week, an initiative encouraging awareness of hate crimes on campus and increasing the need to find solutions to these crimes,

“The event has become huge on campus,” she said.  “It feels good knowing this will continue even after I graduate.”

 Keep UT Hate Free is not the only legacy she will leave behind.  Rugoff was also instrumental in creating UT Votes, an initiative that educates students about the importance of voting and builds connections between the SG members and UT students interning at the State Capitol.

Rugoff met with President George W. Bush in December 2006.

Although proud of these accomplishments, Rugoff considers meeting President Bush as the most defining moment of her college career.  Last December Rugoff was one of four Jewish college students who joined 10 other leaders of the American Jewish community in meeting at the White House with President Bush to discuss higher education and international relations. 

“This was a meeting specifically for leaders of the Jewish community and to see that this was important to our President was very significant,” she said.  “We need to make sure meetings like that take place every year.”

Her meeting with the President was not the last Washington, D.C., has seen of Rugoff.  After graduation she hopes to move to D.C. and work there for two years.

“I want to be in D.C. for a Presidential election, I think it would be very exciting.”

If all goes to plan, as she knows is not always the case, Rugoff hopes to enroll in a dual Public Policy/Law School program.

As for what would be next?  “Who knows,” she said.

Whatever her future endeavors entail, Rugoff will always look back fondly on her days at UT. “[Being president] has been great,” she said.  “This experience has allowed me to accomplish many things for the UT community while providing me with a better sense of the world that will be with me wherever I go,” she said.