(courtesy CUSG)
No formal complaints have been filed in regards to last week’s CUSG election, leaving the winners to celebrate their victory and plan for the future.
As of noon Tuesday, the election results are finalized, with the Excel ticket claiming most of the spots available on the ballot, said CUSG Election Commissioner Dani Warly.
Excel now fills five of nine representative-at-large positions, according to the CUSG website.
The winners, who beat out nine other candidates, are Gabe Schreiber, Brooks A. Kanski, Tyler Goering, Amy Johnson and Danielle Watkins-Green.
The Arts and Sciences Student Government Board Member spots also went to Excel, with Brett J. Forrest, Abby Berman, Aslinn Scott, Joseph Dinnen and Madeline Koutnik taking the win.
Forrest, a 21-year-old senior anthropology and film double major, said that before the initial results were announced the entire Excel ticket was gathered in the UMC together.
“We were sitting around for about an hour for the results, and once the link appeared on the CUSG website, I was too nervous to press it,” Forrest said. “Our ticket campaign leader Brooks pressed it, and we stared for about a few seconds and realized we all had won. We were just shouting at the top of our lungs.”
Kanski, a 20-year-old junior economics major, also said that winning was a great moment for Excel.
“It was a terrific feeling for the whole ticket,” Kanski said. “There was a lot of energy and excitement.”
The number of student votes in this election was greater than that of other years, Warly said.
“We had 3,692 [votes], which is pretty outstanding,” she said.
Warly said that this number is the largest in CUSG fall elections since 1990, and the third largest turnout ever in fall election history.
This increase could be due to the push the election commission made to reach students with advertising, Warly said.
“We used a lot of social network[ing],” she said. “The Rec Center was also a great tool.”
The Rec Center had directions on how to vote on every aerobic machine and allowed for table space as well, Warly said.
For the Excel ticket, winning means having the opportunity to achieve its goals.
“I want to focus on the student fees spending and working with the different student groups that come in,” Forrest said.
Forrest said that as the representative for the College of Arts and Sciences, he has specific areas he wants to work on when it comes to money.
“Spend student fee money on academic forums or cultural awareness type activities,” he said. “I want to make sure were not just wasting our money throwing it around. I’m going to be very vocal.”
Kanski said student fees are also a priority for him.
“For me, it’s really working closely in collaboration with the finance board to make sure the cost centers are operating at maximum efficiency,” Kanski said.
As the only incumbent on the fall Excel ticket, Gabe Schreiber, a 25-year-old master’s candidate in the Leeds School of Business, said he is excited for his lengthened term. He served on the UMC Board last semester and will most likely continue there.
“I’m excited to look to find ways to offer students services and eliminate waste,” Schreiber said. “I’m excited to work with student groups.”
Schreiber encouraged students to get involved with the new representative staff.
“We all hold four office hours every week, and I’m hoping people take advantage of that,” he said.
Contact CU Independent News Editor Sheila V Kumar at sheila.kumar@colorado.edu.
Contact CU Independent Copy Editor Emily Zarka at zarka@colorado.edu.
