By a margin as slim as a Hollywood starlet, Senator Joey Fiore received 47 percent of the student body votes last week, making him the first Northeastern University Direct Elections (NUDE) president.
The 15 percent minimum number of student body votes was almost doubled, reaching 27.5 percent, a total of 4,105 votes.
“I’m very excited with the voting. I’m happy we surged past the 15 percent requirement,” said Student Government Association (SGA) Parliamentarian Michael DeRamo. “It showed that the student body was very thrilled at their first chance in voting for leadership.”
Christopher Bourne, a sophomore psychology and political science major, received 46 percent of the votes, losing by 1 percent, or 30 votes.
“[The closeness of the votes] is a testament to the quality of the candidates. We had two solid leaders that rose and engaged the campus strongly,” DeRamo said.
Bourne said the election process went well for the first year of direct elections.
“I’m really happy to see so many students vote,” Bourne said. “I was obviously a little disappointed but I think it shows that [Fiore] and I did a great job with presenting strong platforms to the students. It was clearly a difficult decision for the student body.”
Bourne said he has decided to run for SGA vice president for student services.
Fiore, a middler geology and history major, said he was very excited that he won and with the number of students who voted.
“[The results] set the stage for things I want to accomplish. Getting people aware of SGA, that’s the first brick in the pyramid,” Fiore said.
The remaining seven percent of the votes were from students who voted no confidence. This percentage equals about 290 students.
“It’s healthy. It shows people were interested enough in the elections that they went to vote. They didn’t lose faith in the direct elections push,” DeRamo said. “It proved they care about the democratic experience and voiced their opinions too.”
Fiore said he expected a fair number of no confidence votes.
“Every time there are only two candidates there will be questions, especially since both of us have no executive board experience,” Fiore said.
Neither of the candidates asked for a vote recount. Even though the amount of votes needed for a successful election was reached, the process was not entirely flawless.
There was a glitch in the computer system that allowed some ineligible people, like graduate students, to vote, DeRamo said.
The problem was detected early and those 19 votes were disqualified, he said.
Beyond his excitement, Fiore said he is ready to “get down and start working.”
He anticipates getting to know his e-board and gathering as much information as possible from seniors preparing to leave Northeastern, he said.
“I want to learn everything about Northeastern possible before they go,” Fiore said.
He also plans to meet with current President Rogan O’Handley and work on the transition process. Fiore will take office at the start of the Summer II session.
SGA will vote for its five vice presidential positions tonight at a joint senate meeting. Nominations for the positions began last Wednesday and are open through today.
As of press time, Senators Sarah Muller and Marines Piney are nominated for vice president for student affairs; Senator Amanda Sabia is nominated for vice president for academic affairs; Senators Ashley Benjamin and Sebastian Asaro are nominated for vice president for administration and public relations; along with Bourne, Senators Kat Palermino and Ryan Fox are nominated for vice president for student services; and Senator Rob Ranley is nominated for vice president for financial affairs, but his nomination is pending confirmation.
