In a flood of yellow light, reflecting off the facade of
Kerckhoff Hall, Elections Board Chairman Nathan Lam stood in front
of a mass of students Thursday night, just as he had a week before.
Only this time, the results he read were very different.
While the Bruins United slate took council majority in last
week’s Undergraduate Students Association Council primary
elections, Student Power! swept the runoffs with Jenny Wood being
elected as president and Jeannie Biniek as external vice
president.
The turnout for the runoffs was higher than last week as 32.7
percent of the undergraduate student body voted this week.
Student Power! supporters erupted into celebration, chanting and
screaming. Biniek and Wood kissed while crowd-surfing the ecstatic
mob of supporters on the Kerckhoff steps.
The Bruins United crowd somberly embraced one another on
Kerckhoff lawn, then turned to face Student Power! and began
chanting “seven seats!”
“They got two seats. They didn’t win,” said
Kristina Doan, the elected internal vice president from Bruins
United.
The huge crowd of Student Power! supporters celebrated long
after the results were read. Biniek, who was down nearly 10 percent
in last week’s primary election, said her victory was
overwhelming and an incredibly humbling experience.
“It was amazing to see how many people supported
us,” Biniek said.
“This is exactly what I call student power,” Wood
said. “Not because we won two positions on USAC, but when all
our communities come together.”
Despite losing the offices in the runoffs, Bruins United
stressed that having an opposition slate take council majority for
the first time in 11 years was still a victory.
“Eleven years ago, the students lost their voice,”
said Jesse Melgares, the defeated external vice president candidate
from Bruins United. “And last week they got it
back.”
“Next year the silent majority isn’t going to be
silent,” said Joe Vardner, the elected Facilities
commissioner from Bruins United.
While disappointed with his loss, Bruins United presidential
candidate Alex Gruenberg spoke optimistically about the
slate’s overall victory.
“I would much rather have council for the students than to
have myself as president, and that dream has been realized,”
Gruenberg said.
Bruins United supporters dispersed quickly and relatively
quietly, as Doan reminded them that despite their runoff losses,
they could still expect some serious changes to be made on council
next year.
“We’re not going to abuse our power on council like
they did,” Doan said. “This is not our university, this
is not their university; it’s everyone’s
university.”
Both Gruenberg and Melgares said they plan to remain active in
student government.
Student Power! candidates said that while they will be a
minority on council next year, they will still push their issues
and their agenda to the forefront.
“This is the beginning,” Biniek said.
Runoff results came in the wake of controversy surrounding
sanctions issued by the Elections Board.
The On Campus Housing Council sent an e-mail endorsing Bruins
United candidates to all on campus residents earlier this week
using a private listserv. The Elections Code only allows e-mail
endorsements to be sent via lists that individuals have voluntarily
signed up for.
Bruins United was blocked from campaigning for eight hours on
Wednesday and Thursday, and banned from further campaigning in the
public areas on the Hill. Wood and Biniek were also sanctioned, for
campaign materials in private areas of on campus housing, and had
to miss out on three hours and 15 minutes of campaigning.
Both slates continued campaigning due to loopholes in the
Elections Code by crossing out all references to voting in their
campaign material.
Vardner said Bruins United may file a grievance with the
Undergraduate Students Association Judicial Board regarding what
they believe was an unfair treatment of the matter.