The election period for the 2002-2003 Student Assembly (S.A.), University Assembly (U.A.) and student member of the Board of Trustees ended at midnight on Tuesday. The unofficial results were announced yesterday, and the official results will be announced at today’s S.A. meeting.
Trustee
In the race for student-elected trustee, five candidates competed for one available position, which is a two-year commitment. The winner was Funa Maduka ’04, the current minority liaison-at-large to the S.A. and chair of that organization’s Committee on Multicultural Issues and Committee on Women’s Issues. Maduka received 648 votes more than her closer competitor.
“I was really excited,” Maduka said. “I came into this race with high aspirations. I really want to thank all of the people who campaigned for me. I also want to congratulate all of the other candidates, because they did a great job.”
Platform
Maduka received over 1000 signatures on her petition to run for the position, which is the most ever received by a candidate and much more than the 200 necessary.
“I think that a lot of the issues that were on my platform are issues that are often overlooked by the Board,” she said.
Her campaign concentrated on fund-raising for the University’s endowment, increased funding for Africana studies and improving campus safety.
In the S.A. races, there were 37 candidates vying for 19 seats. S.A. members serve for one year and have authority over student group funding and such issues as the proposed changes to Slope Day and the increase in ResNet fees.
The winners of the College of Arts and Sciences race have not been determined. The preliminary winners could not be announced yesterday, according to S.A. President Uzo Asonye ’02, but the final results will be made public at the S.A. meeting today.
At today’s S.A. meeting, five candidates plan to dispute the use of funds by their opponents. Three of these candidates, Scott Toussaint ’05, Daniel Braun ’04, and Nick Linder ’05, ran to represent the College of Arts and Sciences. The other two students who have contested the results, Darren Rumack ’04 and Tom Mendez ’03, ran for undesignated seats. All five are currently members of the S.A.
The representatives elected are as follows: undesignated, Esther Tang ’04, Jackie Koppell ’05, Steve Blake ’05, Noah Doyle ’03; engineering, Jason Greenberg ’03, Erik Gilje ’04; human ecology, Katie Howell ’04; industrial and labor relations, Josh Bronstein ’05; art, architecture and planning, Ben Rockey-Harris ’04; hotel administration, Kris Ledbetter ’04; lesbian/gay/bisisexual/transgender/questioning, Erica Kagan ’05; international liaison, Lisa Van Eyndhoven ’04; minority liaison, Jermaine Gause ’04, Sai Pidatala ’04; agriculture and life sciences, Ari Epstein ’04, Matt Jabinsky ’03.
Sai Pidatala, who won one of the two seats for minority liaison-at-large, explained why he wanted to run for the S.A.
“I feel that I will be a strong voice for the students on this campus. I thought that by getting on the S.A., I would be able to make some changes,” Pidatala said.
Pidatala said that increasing support for minority programs was one of his main focuses during the campaign.
“A lot of minority groups feel alienated, and I want to work with those groups to build them up and make them stronger,” he said.
“I think that one of the things that set me apart was that I really tried to have actual discussions with the students,” added Pidatala.
Six candidates in the race for U.A. competed for four spots. The winners were Dena Ruebusch ’04, Carl Jones Jr. ’03, Umair Khan ’03, and Michael Matly ’03.
Ruebusch, who received the largest amount of votes in the U.A. race, said that she decided to run for that position because of the issues she would have an opportunity to address.
“Women’s issues were a big issue for me,” said Ruebusch. “I think that health insurance should extend to cover sexual health issues.”
Campus safety, off-campus housing, and supporting the Cornell United Religious Works (CURW) were also primary issues for Ruebusch.
“In the aftermath of Sept. 11th, I think that it is important that people have the facts about different religions instead of just going on rumors,” she said.
“It is very important that there is a strong relationship between the S.A. and the U.A.,” said Ruebusch. “The first step for me has been getting to know the people on the S.A.?”
The four elected U.A. representatives have authority over policy concerning the Department of Transportation, Religious Services, Health Services, and the Campus Store.
Archived article by Mackenzie Damon