Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Barrett/Barbosa ticket unofficially wins 2015 SGA election, Emily O’Neil elected student trustee

(Christina Yacono/Daily Collegian)
(Christina Yacono/Daily Collegian)

Sïonan Barrett and Chantal Lima Barbosa were unofficially elected Student Government Association president and vice president, respectively, by a narrow margin of four votes during the 2015 SGA Spring Election.

The results of this year’s ballot, which included SGA president/vice president, student trustee and Graduate Student Senate officers were posted to the SGA’s Facebook page Friday afternoon. The ballot also contained three questions regarding future increase of student fees, which all passed.

The results will need to be ratified by the Undergraduate Senate to be made official.

Emily O’Neil won student trustee, while incumbents Adina Giannelli (GSS president), Dani O’Brien (GSS vice president) and Daniel Morales (GSS treasurer) remained in their positions.

The results of the elections broke down like this:

President/Vice President

Barrett/Barbosa: 1,373 votes
Charlotte Kelly/Sammi Gay: 1,369 votes
Rocco Giordano/Danny Mirlay-Srinivas: 404 votes
Savannah Van Leuvan Smith & John Coakley (write-ins): 59 votes

Student Trustee

Emily O’Neil: 1,464 votes
Nicholas Vigneau: 764 votes
Kabir Thatte: 631 votes
Gabriel Schmitt: 267 votes
Juan Manuel Ruiz-Hau: 42 votes
Philip Geer (write-in): 20 votes

Of the 22,252 undergraduate students eligible to vote, 15.38 percent (3,423) voted in the presidential election.

The three ballot questions all passed by a substantial margin.

The first question, regarding student support of the continued existence of the MASSPIRG chapter at UMass through an $11 per student per semester waivable fee, received 2,341 votes in support, while 864 voters opposed.

The second question, which asked students if they wished to increase the Student Activities Fund Fee by $6 to account for increased costs to Registered Student Organizations and agencies, received 2,420 votes, with 772 opposing.

The third question, which asked students if they wished to raise the student health fee by $7 to fund an increased staff at the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health, passed with 2,190 votes and 1,016 opposing.

Aviva Luttrell can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @AvivaLuttrell.

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All Massachusetts Daily Collegian Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *