Last night, Latoya Baldwin set a University record when she was elected as the fourth female student government leader in the same year.
Baldwin, a Wharton senior, was elected chairwoman of the Student Activities Council, the umbrella group for most student activities groups on campus. The executive board members voted amongst themselves.
As a female leader of one of the six branches of Penn student government, Baldwin joins the ranks of Undergraduate Assembly Chairwoman Dana Hork, Nominations and Elections Chairwoman Anne Hankey and Student Committee on Undergraduate Education Chairwoman Lindsey Mathews.
And Baldwin sees her election as especially important given that Penn will celebrate 125 years of admitting female students this fall.
"It shows women do have a place in student government," Baldwin said.
To be elected to the executive board, students must have been a member of a SAC-recognized organization since the first day of fall semester classes.
"It's especially important with SAC because when you're talking about money, it seems to be a man's game. It shows women can think financially," she added.
At the meeting, Wharton sophomore Simon Bland of the Accounting Society was elected vice chairman and Engineering junior Eduardo Vieira of the Penn Brazilian Club was re-elected secretary.
The SAC executive board --composed of the UA treasurer and eight members elected from SAC-recognized groups -- is responsible for annually allocating approximately $500,000 to student organizations as well as moderating disputes within and between the groups. Each board member oversees and serves as a liaison to 12 to 15 SAC-recognized groups.
Four new members were elected Tuesday night at the SAC general body meeting.
In the past, SAC elections have not warranted anxiety or stress since few people run, eliminating competition and transforming SAC elections into little more than a formality.
But this year, seven candidates ran after winning nominations at Tuesday's general meeting. The candidates gave 30 second speeches stating their qualifications and goals and answered questions.
For Baldwin, these seven were the first real candidates she had seen since her freshman year.
Tuesday night even had a run-off between two candidates, more pressure than the candidates had anticipated coming into the election.
"I came in thinking that it wouldn't be too much of a problem to get the position based on what people told me," College and Engineering junior Hector Silva said. "When there were seven people running and it seemed like nominations would continue, I started getting nervous."
Silva, Wharton junior Michael Hoffman and Engineering junior Lisa Toppin were elected to serve on the executive board until next October.
To ensure continuity, four of the eight executive board members are elected in February and the other four are elected in October.
Outgoing SAC Chairman Jay Haverty and College senior Scott Mooney will remain on the executive board until the February SAC elections.
