The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Media Credit: Grace Woodard Grace Woodard/The University News Academic Vice President-elect Elle Hogan, left, reacts to the announcement of her victory Monday night outside the KSLU office in the lower level of the BSC, as Students First running mates Teresa Gabhart, center, [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Mike Marquard Mike Marquard/The University News Matt Buhrman and Chris Wipke, executive board hopefuls from A New I.D.E.A. for SLU, watch election returns in Buhrman's Village apartment. Wipke came in third in the presidential race. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Grace Woodard Grace Woodard/The University News SGA President-elect Cari Johns receives the news that she has just won the election. The shock gave way to ebulance seconds later. [Click to enlarge]

The Students First ticket cleaned up on Monday night, securing all of the executive board seats with a straight-ticket sweep.

Amid a thicket of students wearing red Students First T-shirts, Student Government Association President-elect Cari Johns, Executive Vice President-elect Evan Krauss, Financial Vice President-elect Joe Cirillo, Academic Vice President-elect Elle Hogan, Administrative Vice President-elect Teresa Gabhart and Arts and Sciences Senator-elect Jack Coatar, the group's campaign manager, embraced as the final returns were issued from SLU Radio's studio.

"The last week, things were messy. People knew we were the front-runners and they tried to knock us down any way they could, but we worked our way around it. We showed that we can achieve anything we want to, as long as we do it together," Johns said.

Of the 22 senatorial candidates on the Students First ticket, 20 earned seats. By comparison, four of the six Making it Happen senatorial candidates won seats.

The wins capped an election season steeped in acrimony, stemming from presidential candidate Andrew Chappelle's and senior Justin Butler's admission to purchasing an iPod with student funds and last-minute grievances exchanged between Chappelle and members of the Students First ticket.

The straight-ticket win was the second in three years. Former SGA President Nick Sarcone's ticket, Ticket to Tomorrow, enjoyed a sweep in 2003. Save for SGA President Adam Meister, all of the vice presidents on the current executive board occupied the Gateway to Opportunity ticket last year. Meister, who ran on the Change of Course ticket, eked out the win, beating Gateway to Opportunity's presidential candidate, junior Brian Flanagan, by six votes.

The SGA elections have often been reduced to popularity contests whose winners fit a certain mold, but not a mold shaped by qualities associated with effective leadership. Hogan acknowledged that the elections were indeed a popularity contest, but of a different sort.

"If by popular, you mean students who are involved in student organizations and who make it their job to communicate with students, then yes, it is a popularity contest," she said.

An eleventh-hour grievance, filed by former Black Student Alliance President Andrew Chappelle, threatened to snare-but did little to diminish-the Students First ticket's bid for the executive board seats. Chappelle claimed that the relationship between Junior Jim Swift, the administrator of the SGA Truth web log, and the Students First ticket ran afoul of election protocol.

The grievance targeted Swift's endorsements of Students First on SGA Truth and his insertion of a photo of Chappelle on the site, under which the phrase "student leader" was stricken and replaced with "not anymore."

As per dictates in the election guidelines that hold candidates accountable for any election-related material disseminated by their supporters, the SGA election commission stripped Students First of their rights to campaign in the Quad or to post staked signs along campus pathways on election day.

Students First appealed the grievance, claiming that their relationship with Swift did not link them to SGA Truth, but Vice President of Student Development Phil Lyons, the SGA moderator, upheld the decision.

The restrictions had little impact on the outcome, Johns said. Students First clung to the clock tower, just beyond the margins of the Quad, handing out soda in red cans. In place of staked signs, ticket members dispensed balloons, some of which were affixed to statues around campus.

"We started brainstorming. We knew even if our appeal went through, it wouldn't be until late [Sunday] night. We came up with creative ways to work around it. I think it says a lot about our ticket. We're going to encounter some hard times next year. We're going to have to think of different solutions to problems-I think that's exactly what we did in this campaign," Johns said.

Chappelle also claimed that Swift primed Academic Vice President-elect Elle Hogan for the executive board debate last Tuesday. Hogan denied that Swift imparted any knowledge that would have unfairly advantaged her in the debate.

The Students First ticket entered the race late, plugging Krauss and Hogan into the ticket only days prior to the deadline for candidacy. Cirillo and Gabhart shared a ticket with Chappelle, but severed ties with him as news of the iPod surfaced.

Students First will not rest on their laurels, Hogan said. "It begins today. We start work for next year right now."

Making it happen

For Student Government Association presidential hopeful Andrew Chappelle, Monday night, election night, seemed similar to any other night he might spend with friends.

Surrounded by supporters in his Grand Forest apartment, Chappelle sat on his couch, the clear center to the rotation of gatherers alternating between the drink table and the snacks. The only difference to this night was what was on TV; instead of a movie, Phil Lyons entertained and interviewed on TV as the votes were tallied.

Eventually, it was Chappelle's time to be televised. We made the short trip to the KSLU studio, and waited for Lyons to give Chappelle the go ahead. He sat and fielded questions about the iPod "scandal" and why he chose to run in spite of it ("I am absolutely the most qualified") and how he planned to regain the trust of the students if he won the presidency ("[It's a] gradual process, and one that I've already started"). There were a few calls of support, which consisted mostly of cacophonous screaming.

Late in the interview, Lyons asked if there was any "silver lining" to the recent events that befell Chappelle this semester. Chappelle responded by saying that "knowing who my friends are" and being able to hear feedback from different people were some perks, but knowing that "I don't have to be SGA president to do great things" was the greatest revelation.

When we returned to Chappelle's apartment, we were greeted by a wall of sound from the approximately 20 people in the room. Chappelle resumed his seat on the couch, and the waiting began.

As the night continued, the clamor for results increased in frequency from occasional to almost constant. Some glanced only occasionally toward the television, engrossed in their own conversations, while some glanced occasionally away. Most of the conversation concerned the election, Chappelle's chances and the other candidates.

As it grew later, Chappelle became more and more focused on the television, even with the jumble of people around him. When election commissioner Mike Herman joined Lyons, Chappelle straightened.

"Hush up!" someone yelled, and the room quieted as every eye turned to the TV.

Herman announced the winners of the senatorial races first, and cries of support or opposition arose, according to the victors' party affiliations and presence in the room. There were similar outbursts as the vice presidential winners were announced, and when it came time to announce the president of next year's SGA, the room became deathly silent.

Upon the announcement, Chappelle sat back, a thin-lipped smile on his face. The rest of the room erupted in cries of solidarity with Chappelle, until a smile cracked his face.

"I got second!" he declared, and a cheer exploded from the room.

Chappelle said that he was pleased with how the election turned out.

"I was shoving for 200 to 300 votes, because I knew that Cari [Johns] and Chris [Wipke] put together really great campaigns," he said. "To come in second place to Cari Johns is great."

Chappelle said that he would fully support Johns as president of SGA and that he was confident that she would "do a great job."

"I've been hoping to be SGA president since freshman year," Chappelle said. "Being able to stop working on this and work on something bigger and better is a great relief. No tears are shed."

I.D.E.A.

SGA elections came and went. With the winners chosen, the others are holding on to memories-ones the I.D.E.A ticket hoped would formulate into much more as they awaited the results Monday night.

Nerves were high, laughs were anxious and excitement filled the air in anticipation of what could be.

"Today [Monday] was difficult because it was an emotional rollercoaster. I didn't really wake up because I didn't go to bed from the night before. I was nervous because I didn't know what was going to happen," presidential candidate Chris Wipke, senior, said.

The polls were closing and spirits were high as Wipke, junior Matt Buhrman, senior Amy Rapp, and junior Bhavin Mehta could be found outside KSLU with their entourage.

"I think the campaign has gone really well. I'm looking forward to seeing some results," Buhrman said.

"I'm nervous from the standpoint that the last year and a half I've dedicated to student government and...it's really nerve-wracking to think that this may be the end," Rapp said.

Sunday night turned into a day that faded into another morning. It began with stake signs, was given fuel by a 6 a.m. coffee and doughnut run, was energized through student interactions in the quad and was able to endure the wait because of supporters.

They were there through it all, helping and encouraging with enthusiasm. The prep work was done, and it was down to the wire. Stakes, signs in hand and chants galore, lower BSC became the campaign grounds for I.D.E.A., and the mall-from Grand until the Village-a stage of hyperactivity.

"I felt really comfortable supporting and volunteering for a ticket that I believed had integrity," senior Stephanie Thompson said.

Rapp referred to all who contributed their time and effort as "the election angels." Just how far these wings would take them was to be discovered soon.

Anticipation was building. Wipke mingled, sitting to watch the broadcast in the minutes leading up to his fate.

Buhrman remained thoughtful and quiet, loosening his tie and wiping tiny beads of sweat from his forehead every so often. Rapp's clammy hands were rarely still, while Mehta's humor served as a distraction.

Campaign manager, senior Joel Samuels, toasted the candidates. He spoke of the pleasure he had in being part of their team and the pride that he had for them all.

"You ran a good campaign," he said.

The thank yous ceased, the laughs died down, the side conversations were muffled and the hugs grew a little tighter. The defining moment arrived-was I.D.E.A going to represent the student body?

No.

"Oh my god. That is ridiculous," Wipke whispered.

"It's been fun. That's what it's all about," Buhrman said.

Silence didn't completely envelope the room, but heads were bowed and wandering eyes searched for an indication of what to do or say next. The awkwardness was broken, handshakes were given and echoes of "good job" resounded through the apartment.

"You put forth your best effort-doing what a lot of others didn't do. You ran," said junior Justin Kerber.

Wanting to be the "new I.D.E.A for SLU" is not a vision that was lost in defeat.

"The fact is, SLU loses today. SGA is going to stay the same. But you know what, I'll be there," Wipke promised.

He summed up his role now as being an unofficial SGA representative, planning on attending all meetings from this point forward and bringing the voice of the students with him.

He said that their website, ideaforslu.net, would be maintained for those who wished to express their concerns.

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