Freshman election results for 2010-2011 Student Government Association (SGA) were announced on Wednesday, Sept. 15. Seventeen freshmen ran for four spots in an election where the top four candidates with the most votes automatically won, with no run-off election. The election also included a Constitutional referendum regarding the financial resources of SGA.
“The spring is for the big elections where the executives will be running. The fall is typically for freshman elections,” said Michael Mosgrove, second-year MGMT major and Internal Development Chair of the SGA.
McKenzie Delaney, Patrick Nadeau, Noa Davidson and Lisa Altshul won the elections, earning the right to represent the freshman class. Delaney was also elected as the Freshman-class President by scoring the highest number of votes.
“I’m absolutely thrilled. I’m so thankful for the support of all my classmates. I promise I will not let them down, and I will do my best to represent them as the 2010-2011 Freshman-class President,” said McKenzie Delaney, first-year MGMT major.
The election requirements were substantially increased this year with candidates having to complete additional procedures. In the past, potential candidates had to attend the first meeting before running. This year, students were required to attend extra meetings, including those with their constituencies.
“The [election website] answers a lot of questions that students should know about their positions. This year, we had a lot more requirements for the candidates. Four individuals were dropped after initially registering,” said Chibueze Ihinacho, second-year BME major and Elections Chair.
In addition, the ballot included a referendum regarding SGA’s spending procedure. The referendum was put to a popular vote after receiving a two-thirds majority in SGA’s legislative body.
“The referendum is about moving the account formulas from the Constitution to the joint finance committee. The way the account formulas are set up right now after the budgeting is between capital outlay and prior year,” Mosgrove said.
“It had to do with formulas between joint finance committees. They have rules on SGA’s funding. They divide money into two accounts. Later in the year, SGA dips into the second account since it’s less liquid. Now they can vote on it instead of hosting a referendum,” Ihinacho said.
There were several informal violations related to advertising in housing during the campaign process. The Election Committee ruled advertising in housing would be allowed, but limited to a “tasteful” amount. Another violation involved sponsorship from the Waffle House in Tech Square.
“One candidate was going to host an event at Waffle House. She would have to count each Waffle sold as part her campaign spending. It was a very big event, and some candidates felt threatened. Multiple candidates and students called in from all classes, and we ruled that the candidate was given an unfair advantage,” Ihinacho said.
The candidate, Noa Davidson, was deducted fifteen percent of her total votes but still managed to finish in fourth place.