Student Association Elections Decide New Executive Board

Salem Eames, Editor

   The results are in! Last night, a handful of ebullient students were handed the reins of responsibility during the Student Association (SA) Senate meeting, having been voted into sundry executive offices for the upcoming academic year. Jimmy Johnston was elected as President, unopposed. Johnston will be the primary overseer of the proceedings and structure of the senate. He will be responsible for generally communicating and representing the needs and positions of students to faculty, administration and the greater Oneonta community. Johnston will serve on the OAS Board of Directors, the College Council and the College Senate.

   Jillian Vell defeated Liz White in the race for Executive Vice President. Vell will act as Chair for Senate meetings and will oversee all the SA directors and standing committees. She will also be responsible for executing and directing transportation policies and resources, including the usage of SA vans, dispersal of gas packets and the SA’s relationship with Oneonta Public Transportation. Colleen Clark won as the unopposed incumbent for Vice President of Finance. Clark will be responsible for all the accounting and bookkeeping aspects of the SA, including the yearly budget as well as oversight of the finance committee which makes recommendations to the senate concerning club funding requests.

   Mary Beth Carswell defeated Kainat Malik in the race for Vice President of Activities, the newest position on the senate following the SA’s absorption of the College Union Activities Council. Carswell will serve as Chair of the Student Association Activities Council (SAAC), which involves planning activities and programs on campus. She will work closely with the officers of SAAC and the college’s Director of Campus Activities.

   Jen Sanderson edged out two other candidates, Richard Cebada and David Feldman, for the office of Vice President for Central Affairs. Sanderson will serve as the primary liaison between the Senate and SA-recognized clubs and organizations. She will also be responsible for approving new clubs and keeping inventory of SA property. At the time of the writing of this article, the candidates were out of the office and unavailable to comment, most likely due to celebratory senate rituals.