USG flips coin to decide Director of Community Affairs
Members of Undergraduate Student Government nervously wait for the results from the elections held from 7am-7pm March 8, 2016.
In the opening minutes of Wednesday’s Kent State Undergraduate Student Government meeting, a coin flip was conducted to decide the next Director of Community Affairs, a position that ultimately ended in a tie in this year’s USG elections.
Collin Czehut, a senior applied engineering major, won the coin toss. He described the waiting period as an adrenaline rush and called the experience a “great race,” saying that he looks forward to being a part of USG.
“As Director of Community Affairs, I want to bring more of a diverse community and bring everyone available because this campus is very diverse, as we all know,” Czehut said.
USG Elections Winners and Vote Percentage
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Samuel Graska // 69% of votes
RUNNERS UP:
Matthew Chernesky // 30% of votes
DIRECTOR OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Natalia Roman // 98% of votes
DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE
Andrew Pieri // 61% of votes
RUNNERS UP:
James Flanagan // 38% of votes
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATION
Nathan LaChance // 73% of votes
Runners Up
Wei Si // 21% of votes
Junesung Cho // 4% of votes
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS: TIE
Collin Czehut // 50% of votes
Zachary Glover // 50% of votes
DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
Keri Richmond // 64% of votes
RUNNERS UP:
Alexis Lewis // 34% of votes
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING
Clifford Glowacki // 28% of votes
RUNNERS UP:
Logan Pringle // 27.8% of votes
Alexandra Gray // 25.7% of votes
Emonte Wimbush // 17.8% of votes
DIRECTOR OF STUDENT ADVANCEMENT
Ariella Yager // 97% of Votes
DIRECTOR OF STUDENT INVOLVEMENT
Olivia Mullen // 41% of votes
RUNNERS UP:
Brendon Schrock // 32% of votes
Elise Szabo // 14% of votes
Kun Kang // 10% of votes
SENATOR FOR THE
COLLEGE OF APPLIED ENGINEERING, SUSTAINABILITY, AND TECHNOLOGY
Cody Mehalic // 100% of votes
SENATOR FOR THE COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
Zhamilya Suieubayeva // 75% of votes
RUNNERS UP:
Susan George // 19 % of votes
SENATOR FOR THE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS
Samantha Johnson // 54% of votes
RUNNERS UP:
Caleb Ashcraft // 32% of votes
Mara Schoch // 14% of cotes
SENATOR FOR THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Troy Kotsch // 72% of votes
RUNNERS UP:
Ryan Rylow // 26% of votes
SENATOR FOR THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Brian Brown // 97% of votes
SENATOR FOR THE COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION
Nicholas Peters // 83% of votes
RUNNERS UP:
Amrita Datta // 11% of votes
SENATOR FOR THE COLLEGE OF NURSING
Melissa North // 100% of votes
SENATOR FOR THE COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Brittany Johnson // 100% of votes
SENATOR FOR THE HONORS COLLEGE
Kathleen Moorman // 97% of votes
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The Ballot Access Act was proposed at the last meeting and voted against on Wednesday. The act, proposed by Senator at Large Matthew Chernesky, would lower the signature requirement to run for USG offices.
As the policy states now, students must get the equivalent of 1 percent of the student population, which is around 300 signatures. If the act passed, it would have lowered the number to 50 required signatures.
“We’ve always struggled with getting people involved in our elections,” Chernesky said. “By lowering the bar, it would encourage more people to want to run for office. It should be easy to run and hard to win.”
Some members who opposed the bill commented that talking to 300 students about USG is a good way to spread awareness about the organization to the student population.
A resolution that did pass was one indicating USG support for Ohio House Bill 183, which would give student members of the Board of Trustees at Kent State, among other Ohio universities, voting power and the authority to attend executive sessions.
Anthony Calvaruso is a student politics reporter for the Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].