Third-year College student Ellie Brasacchio was elected Student Council President Friday, winning 89.1 percent of the University-wide vote. According to data from the University Board of Elections, voter turnout for the Student Council race was 12.6 percent, down by nearly a third from last year when voter turnout was 18.8 percent.
Brasacchio has served on Student Council since her first year at the University, and previously served as the Chair of the Representative Body. She defeated first-year Curry student Arabella Lee, who won 10.9 percent of the vote.
Second-year College student Jalon Daniels was also a candidate for Student Council President when the campaign process began, but he withdrew from the race before votes were cast.
Brasacchio ran on a joint ticket with third-year College student and incumbent Vice President of Administration Taylor Overton and second-year College student Shefalika Prasad, both of whom ran unopposed in this election. Overton will again serve as Vice President of Administration, while Prasad will serve as Vice President for Organizations, succeeding fourth-year College student Ty Zirkle.
Brasacchio, Overton and Prasad’s joint platform emphasizes financial accessibility for low-income students at the University. It calls for the creation of a Financial Accessibility Committee to focus on programs for low-income students, discounted meal plans for low-income students, and free printing and textbooks.
“We see accessibility as the biggest issue at this University. Each and every member of the student body should be able to view the University as their home,” reads the Brasacchio-Overton-Prasad platform.
Brasacchio will succeed fourth-year College student Alex Cintron as Student Council President. In a previous interview with The Cavalier Daily, Brasacchio said that she wanted to continue and expand certain initiatives begun under Cintron’s administration.
“I think I have a different perspective on things than [Student Council President] Alex [Cintron] does, and I think that another thing is that I can build upon the really good things that Alex has done, specifically with working to make the American Studies program a department and all the free menstrual hygiene initiatives,” Brasacchio said.
Brasacchio, Overton, Prasad and all elected Student Council Representatives will be sworn in later this month.
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