In a close vote Monday evening, Judicial Council reported the votes of each undergraduate residence hall in the sophomore class council election, resulting in current freshmen Jordan Theriault, Devin Diggs, Lily Short and Timmy Gallagher winning the election after a failed runoff Thursday.
The vote followed a tight race for the class of 2022’s sophomore class council last week. No ticket emerged with a majority of the votes in either the original or the runoff elections, so per section 17.5 (a.3) of the Student Union Constitution, the student senate convened a special session to decide the race.
Junior and Judicial Council president Shady Girgis presided over the vote and explained the electoral college-like procedure: All votes were to be decided by a breakdown of the votes within each residence hall; if any dorm had a tie between two or three of the tickets, that dorm’s senator would decide the tie; if that senator was absent from the meeting and had not sent a proxy, that dorm’s votes were voided.
Ultimately, the race came down to two consequential votes. The winning ticket received 12 votes, while the runners-up — freshmen Ronan King, Zoë Case, Matty Tighe and Quinn Hogan — received 10. The third-place ticket — freshmen Jack Looney, Alex Peyton, Tom Daly and MJ Haak — were close behind, with a final total of eight votes.
As Girgis read through the results, he announced the first tie of the evening — Duncan Hall. Duncan’s senator, junior Steven Frick, however, was absent and had not sent a proxy.
“Their vote will be voided,” Girgis announced.
Junior Morrissey senator Patrick Paulsen decided the second tie, voting for King, Case, Tighe and Hogan.
The off-campus senator, senior Natalia Yepez Frias, decided the final tie of the evening. The off-campus vote was a three-way tie because all members of the class of 2022 are freshmen and therefore, are required to live on campus. Frias, who had her pick of all three tickets, voted for Looney, Peyton, Daly and Haak.
If Frias or a Duncan representative had voted for King’s ticket, the race would have been decided by senior vice president Corey Gayheart. With a two-point edge, however, Theriault, Diggs, Short and Gallagher prevailed.
Theriault, the newly elected sophomore class council president, is currently president of the class of 2022’s freshman class council. He and Gallagher, current freshman class council secretary, are incumbents who said they are excited to move forward with their agenda next year.
Freshman class council is still in full swing, however, and Theriault said he is focused on a wide variety of initiatives for the rest of his term this year. He and other council members are working on finalizing the class of 2022 apparel order and organizing a class Mass. Theriault said he’s especially excited about the Spring Fling dance that freshman class council is planning for freshmen this semester.
“That’s something we’re really looking forward to,” he said.
Next year, Theriault said he envisions more interaction between sophomores across campus. He hopes to strengthen community by connecting students from different dorms.
Theriault said he is planning “events targeted for South Quad-North Quad meet up or West Quad-Mod Quad meet up with some kind of event, whether that be spiritual service or some kind of mini event during the day.”
Additionally, Theriault said he wants to open up sophomore class council meetings to the public next year so members of the class of 2022 can see student government in action.
Though the race was close, Theriault, Diggs, Short and Gallagher are moving full speed ahead. With the election behind them, the newly elected council is ready to carry out their vision for the class of 2022.
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