The votes are in and the students of UNB Saint John have officially decided upon next year’s Students’ Representative Council (SRC).
In a tight race against Jonathan Cogger, Ashley Macosky will be serving the students as president during the 2013/2014 academic year. Macosky beat out Cogger by a vote of 323-317. The closeness of the race would suggest that both candidates ran good campaigns in order to get students engaged and informed. Macosky wants students to continue to be a part of UNBSJ as it is crucial to the success of the SRC. “Thank you everyone for your support,” says Macosky on his Facebook page, “just because the elections are over, does not mean the conversation ends. Please stay active and involved.”
The new vice president student affairs will be Jen Brown. Brown currently holds the position of social director but is looking forward to being even more involved next year. “I am beyond excited to serve my students for another year on the SRC,” says Brown, “O-week will be a week to remember!”
Newcomer Chris Mahar will be representing UNBSJ by holding the executive position of vice president external.
Alongside the three executive positions, students were also given the opportunity to cast their vote for councillors that will play a major role in how the SRC runs next year. The Member at Large position has been won by Derek Wilcox and Carly Baxter has been re-elected as the athletic representative. Jennifer Breen is the new social rep and Alicia Mason holds the mature student seat.
The two Science reps are Katherine Miller and Jordan Tracey. The two Business reps are Lindsay Clifford and Rabbi Rasel. Adam Smith will be representing the faculty of Arts. Macosky was also elected for a one year senate position and Cogger will continue to sit on the Board of Governors.
A bi-election will be held in the fall in order to fill the remaining positions. Two first year representatives are needed as well as another Arts rep. Media and residence representatives will be chosen in the fall as well. The Chair, Chief Returning Officer, Social Director and VP Finance positions will also be an active part of the SRC in the fall. These are hired positions that will be announced later this year.
The voting turnout for this election rang in at 29 per cent. This was a 13.2 per cent increase from last year’s spring election where none of the executive positions were contested. While the increase is definitely a step in the right direction, it’s still very low considering the amount of eligible voters here at UNBSJ.
A big congratulations goes out to all of the successful candidates that will be representing the student body for the 2013/2014 year!
