Bergren Next EVP, President To Be Decided By Runoff

Hundreds gathered in SMPA basement lecture hall tonight to hear the results of the 2012 Student Association Election. With 45 percent of the vote, junior Abby Bergren will be the next executive vice president. The next president will be decided by a runoff vote between juniors Ashwin Narla and John Bennett.

Joint Elections Committee Chair Phil Gardner took the podium at 9:50 p.m. to announce the winners of the general election. After a few moments of thank yous to all those who participated, Gardner announced the winners to the impatient crowd (full list below).

Executive Vice President-elect Bergren's camp met her with hugs and kisses after her victory was announced. Bergren said she's looking forward to starting the job tomorrow in a post-victory interview with WRGW News.

Only 130 votes separated presidential candidates Bennett (1748) and Narla (1618). The two have a long week ahead of them which will culminate in a runoff election scheduled for Feb. 29 to March 1.

JEC Chair Gardner announced that the 2012 election had the highest voter turnout in recent history with 4,806 students casting ballots. Gardner also announced that a new initiative, which bans smoking within 25 feet of building entrances, passed with 67% supporting the plan.

This year's results venue--a small, tucked away lecture hall in the basement of the SMPA building--was the object of scrutiny by those who attended the event. The poorly ventilated room heated up as hundreds of warm bodies packed together. The subterranean "dead zone"proved to be a texter's, tweeter's and radio broadcaster's worst nightmare.

Stay tuned for audio including reactions from Executive Vice President-Elect Bergren, Narla, and Bennett. WRGW also interviewed Student Association President John Richardson regarding the next steps he will take in order to ensure a smooth transition into the next administration.

Full winners list:

Marvin Center Governing Board Graduate Governor: Gary Wong

Marvin Center Governing Board Undergraduate Governors: John Richardson, Jordan Hill, Ian Ceccarelli, Galen Petruso

SEAS Undergraduate Senator: Neil Forquer

School of Business Graduate Senators: Greg Viola, Shashwat Gautam

School of Business Undergraduate Senators: Evan Kline and Ryan Counihan

Elliott School Graduate Senator: Jonathan Kirk

Elliott School Undergraduate Senators: Alicia Rose, Michael Morgan, Ross Rattanasena

CCAS Undergraduate Senators: Markus Batchelor, Daniel Egel-Weiss, Ian Shetron, Omeed Firouzi, Nick Gumas, Anthony Bucci III

Undergraduate Senators at Large: Elizabeth Kennedy, Hugo Scheckter