The newest members of the Undergraduate Assembly, as well as the new representatives and board members of the class of 2006, were announced last night in Houston Hall.
Nominations and Elections Committee Chairwoman Rebecca Silberman congratulated the candidates for the way they campaigned at last night's Fair Practices Hearing, which is the annual wrap-up meeting for student government elections.
"There haven't been any violations brought against you or the NEC," the College senior announced. "You should be proud of yourselves."
According to historical precedent, the NEC faced the possibility of having a violation brought against the it. A few mistakes were made during the campaigning process, including two errors in the ad that the NEC took out in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
The ad, which featured pictures and statements for all of the student government candidates, mixed up the statements of College freshman Jessie Smyth, who was running for UA and Class Board secretary. In addition, Wharton freshman Christina Martin's name was left off the ad completely and was not initially on the online ballot either.
Similar mistakes with the pre-election advertisement in 1997 led to the results being canceled at the Fair Practice hearing.
However, the situation was successfully resolved by the NEC, and none of the candidates formally complained.
Although Smyth did not win either position she ran for, Martin will serve as vice president for corporate sponsorship.
"I'm happy with the election results, and I am excited to be on the class board," Martin said.
As the person who got the most votes for UA, College freshman Pooja Lakshmin will also be given a seat on the University Council.
College freshman Jack Cohen won the coveted spot of class president, as well as a seat on the UA.
"I want to thank everyone for their support," Cohen said. "I am really excited for what the class board is going to be doing.... It's gonna be a great year."
College freshman Pierre Gooding will be the class of 2006 vice president, and he will also be serving on the UA.
"I just wanna say 'what's up' to the class of 2006. Thanks to the class for their support," Gooding said. "I will make sure to represent the class well. It's going to be a great year and a memorable one."
College freshmen Rachel Fersh, Nick Bobys and Amy Gartenlaub will also be serving on the UA, along with Wharton freshmen Sean Walker and Cynthia Wong.
College freshmen Rebecca Silver and Amelia Fong will serve as class secretary and treasurer, respectively.
Merrill McDermott and Nick Bobys will serve as class board college representatives. Pooja Sethi will serve as the Engineering representative, and Dennis Yu will serve as the Wharton Representative. Benjamin Ochieng will be the Nursing representative.
Over 52 percent of the freshman class, or about 1,300 students, voted online on Penn InTouch. Last year's turnout was similar, showing an increase from years past when only one third of the class voted in the elections.
