Polls for the fall student elections closed Wednesday at midnight. Ten percent of the entire student body logged online to select representatives to fill vacant positions and approve a referendum on renewable energy.
"The elections went smoothly this year," University Board of Elections Chair Steve Yang said.
Voter turnout decreased slightly from that of last fall's elections. Seventeen percent of undergraduate students cast ballots.
"Voter turnout was on par with past fall elections, though it was not as high as last fall," Yang said. Last fall there were 14 referenda on the ballot, most relating to the creation of the UBE.
Students casting ballots this year voted overwhelmingly for the one referendum on the ballot, with 2,289 "yes" votes and 347 "no"s. The referendum asked students to indicate whether they would be willing to pay an extra $7 in order for the University to begin using clean, renewable energy and reduce its use of fossil fuels.
A "yes" vote only signals student support, however, and does not translate into a direct policy change. Council next plans to take the student-approved referendum to the administration.
"Groups behind the referendum will be making presentations to the administration," Yang said.
Yang added that the lack of a direct impact on the administration's energy policy also could have contributed to lowered voter turnout.
Students also cast ballots for some school-specific representatives to Council and the Honor Committee.
The Council representatives selected will remain in their positions through the upcoming spring and fall.
Thomas Gibson, Dionna Lewis, Ezana Teffera, and John Slosson won the four positions for College representatives on Council.
The newly picked Engineering school representatives are Katherine Gambill, Jennifer Prey, and Pavan Gupta.
Ipek Soylu won an uncontested race for Council Commerce representative.
"I was very excited to win," said Slosson, who currently serves as Council's transfer student representative. "My current constituents are transfer students. In the fall, they will be all students in the College."
Slosson said his duties will largely remain the same with his new position. While his constituency will expand, his duties will continue to be writing resolutions and keeping in touch with the student body.
Officials were still in a meeting last night determining the winner of the Commerce School Honor representative race, after one the three candidates accused another of violating campaign regulations.
Yang said the position for Honor Commerce representative was the most highly contested.
Newly elected representative Dionna Lewis, a first-year College student, said she is excited to engage with a mostly older body of students.
"I have innovative strategies and new ideas to bring to the table," Lewis said. "I might have a different perspective on things"
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