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News Student government fills positions Secret ballots to elect SAC chair, PR, events coordinators
By Liz Maier Staff writer New MSG positions are filled after two series of secret-ballot elections. The last portion of Monday’s Mercyhurst Student Government (MSG) meeting was spent voting on the positions of Student Activities Council Chair, Public Relations Coordinator and MSG Events Coordinator. Recommended by the MSG Executive Board for the job of SAC Chair was Victoria Fleisner. The executive board recommended former MSG vice president, junior Mihailo Jovanovic, to the position of public relations coordinator. President of MSG, senior Christina Coovert, motioned to approve both candidates for the job, however, a majority of the members from the MSG floor committee motioned to vote separately on the candidates. Sophomore MSG representative, Marissa Petroff, said, "I was surprised that the body did not agree with the recommendations." MSG Vice President Dinorah Sanchez approved body members’ request that the voting be done by means of secret ballots. Twenty-seven body members, including Student Activities Council Chair senior Kelly Cofrancisco, participated in the first two elections for Fleisner and Jovanovic. Fleisner secured her recommended position as SAC Chair after receiving an overwhelming 26 votes. Junior representative Haylie Starin said she was very pleased with the outcome. "I worked with Vicky for two years on SAC and I know she will do an amazing job because she has great organizational skills and work ethic," she said. "She also has some great visions of SAC for next year." Jovanovic was able to clinch his recommended PR coordinator position with 16 votes. A majority vote of 14 was necessary to secure the candidates’ positions in both elections. Junior Representative, Erik Penn, was not surprised at the closeness of the election. "People do not always vote for the best interests of their constituents and they are not as informed as they should be, nor do they take the initiative," Penn said. Even though Jovanovic received applause from the majority of the MSG body, several body members were displeased with the outcome. Members stated at the meeting that the vote was biased since Jovanovic already held a position on the executive board. In defense of the position, Jovanovic stated he had created a six-page document of his future ideas and plans as PR coordinator for anyone with questions or concerns. He thanked all those who voted for him and assured those who did not that he "…will prove them wrong." The final series of the night’s elections was between junior representative Zachary Pekor and former MSG secretary sophomore Jacquelynne Brown for MSG events coordinator. Coovert said after a four-hour board meeting on Sunday evening, they came to a tie decision between the two candidates and agreed to hand over the final decision to the members of MSG. Each candidate was notified of the board’s decision and asked to present a short speech at the MSG meeting stating their previous accomplishments, positions and future plans if elected. Before voting, Sanchez motioned to discuss the candidates. Each candidate was allowed four points or comments given by body members. Twenty-six secret ballots were cast with the absence of Pekor. While in the process of counting the ballots, the executive board members left the Student Union Chamber room for a five-minute recess. Only the executive board members have the capability and privilege to count the ballots, Penn said. Brown won the majority vote of 15 with Pekor receiving 11 votes. Consequently, a variety of emotions permeated the room from candidates and body members. Sophomore representative, Celeste Shefferly, said she wishes those elected would display themselves in a better light. "I wish that the people running for the leadership positions would have held themselves better, shown better integrity and better character than what they did," she said. Penn expressed concern. "The lack of organization of the meeting along with the tension among members on an executive and board level are already beginning to shake the foundation of the new constitution (and) raising questions of people’s competences and motivations," he said. "This is turning people against those that they once might have called friends."
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