Alliance party dominates elections

After weeks of intense and aggressive campaigning, the results of the online Student Senate elections were announced Friday, with the Alliance ticket emerging victorious.

Sophomore Michael Shelton was elected as president, sophomore Stephanie Amick as vice president, sophomore Nick Hart as treasurer and freshman Tyler Wood as secretary.

Of this newly-elected executive board, Amick is the only candidate who ran under the Bulldog-endorsed Action ticket.

The Alliance ticket also had 12 voting senators elected, while the Action/Bulldog ticket had only eight voting senators elected.

This gives the Alliance ticket a three-fifths majority over the Action/Bulldog ticket.

Despite the Alliance's near-sweep, the results were close. Action Presidential candidate sophomore Rory Roundtree lost by a mere 31 votes.

In an even closer race, junior Kristen Pingel, a vice-presidential candidate, lost with a difference of only 16 votes between her and Amick.

After a year filled with angst between the two parties, the new executive members have said they are ready for the bickering to end.

Shelton said he thinks he will be able to produce a more productive working environment next year.

"I intend to work closely with my vice president to formulate a plan that represents the views and opinions of both the Truman Alliance and Action tickets to reach effective compromises," Shelton said.

Although Amick ran under Alliance's opposing ticket, Shelton said there is no further conflict between him and the newly elected vice president.

"We are both professional enough to work together and see that the job gets done," he said. "We have opened the lines of communication to ensure that both of our opinions are understood by the other."

Amick said the election results disappointed her, but she said she thinks that the previously divided senate body will finally begin to work together effectively.

"We have to take the situation we're given, and I feel that we will be able to make it successfully through next year," Amick said. "Hopefully everyone is dedicated to the issues they campaigned on, and we can all work together."

She also said she thinks she and Shelton will be able to form a successful leadership team.

"[We] have had difficulties in the past, but I'm more than dedicated to work with him to benefit the student association," Amick said. "We're getting together this weekend to appoint committee chairs, and we are already starting to discuss plans for next fall."

Last year's president, junior Ryan Walkiewicz, faced a great deal of opposition from Bulldog party members.

Shelton said he thinks next year's Senate body will treat him with more respect.

"The Truman Alliance swept all of the races, and so I feel confident that the members of the body will support me," Shelton said. "But I have received support as well from numerous Bulldog party members. I will be sitting on this body for a year. I hope that it will be peaceful and well-functioning."

Shelton said that in addition to getting the keys to the Senate office in the Student Union Building, he is very excited about the responsibilities of his new position.

"I'm very excited to work with administration to represent the views of students that are often unheard," Shelton said.

The online elections proved to be much more convenient for students than the previous method of paper-ballot voting in the SUB.

"It was close to the record," Senate faculty adviser Scott Alberts said. "I was hoping turnout would be at least this high."

Alberts said voting occurred in surges. By 4 p.m. Wednesday, 460 students had voted. Voting slowed Thursday and in the last hour of voting Friday, 100 votes were cast.

Shelton, who worked to bring online elections to Truman, said he was surprised voter turnout wasn't higher but that the online elections still had several positive aspects.