After Holy Cross students turned out in record numbers for the election of president and vice president of the Student Government Association [SGA], the newly-elected Luke Bruner and Adrian Ronquillo resigned and were replaced Monday morning by runners-up Joseph Lafferty and Michael Flaherty.In an e-mail forwarded to the HCC student body, Bruner and Ronquillo cited the extensive time commitment as reason for their resignation."After careful reflection it has become apparent that we will be unable to execute all the duties required of the offices of SGA president and vice-president. This school and its students deserve the complete and undivided attention from those serving - nothing less is acceptable in our eyes," stated in the e-mail obtained by The Observer.Bruner said later that he and Ronquillo had not fully understood the level of commitment required of them when they ran for election, and that their resignation was in the best interest of the student body."We both have heavy course loads and are interested in transferring" to Notre Dame Ronquillo said. "The guys that are replacing us are here on the four-year program. We just want the person in office to be able to be there for the school."Despite minor rumors to the contrary, neither election fraud nor student dissatisfaction with administration control played a role in the resignation."Luke Bruner and his running mate Adrian Ronquillo both resigned. I endorsed the students' letter, and I accepted their resignation," vice president of student affairs Tina Holland said. "I can't speak to anything besides what they themselves said in the letter."Holland added that she was not aware of any dissatisfaction among students in regards to the administration's role in the student government, and would address any concerns should they arise.Director of student activities and advisor to the SGA Tory Mitchell concurred, saying he is not of aware of any investigation into the circumstances surrounding the election, and that approval of the Lafferty and Flaherty was successful.Current SGA president Chris Delborrello also confirmed there was no fraud on the part of the SGA or the student leaders who ran the election.Turnout for the SGA elections were the highest on record, with 50 percent of students voting in both the first and second rounds, said Bruner."Historically, there is approximately a 50 percent drop in participation between the first and second rounds of voting, with about 30 percent to 40 percent showing up for the first round, and maybe 15 percent to 20 percent in the second," Bruner said. "We managed to maintain 50 percent for both, which, to my knowledge, is unprecedented."
