The Undergraduate Assembly concluded its internal elections yesterday morning after a grueling two-meeting, 15-hour affair that ended just after 4 a.m.
The UA body elected College sophomore Alec Webley chairman, College junior Lucia Liu executive vice chairwoman, College sophomore Matt Amalfitano vice chairman for external affairs, College junior Sakina Zaidi treasurer and Wharton freshman Faye Cheng secretary.
The transition meeting that started April 19 in a packed Huntsman Hall lecture room ended less than smoothly in a Harrison College House conference room.
After electing Webley and Liu, the group reconvened on Sunday to repeat a similarly long process.
Members faced a difficult decision between Amalfitano and College sophomore Mark Pan in the election for vice chairman for external affairs.
"It's a tough election because they are very well matched against each other," said former UA member and Engineering senior Jordan Mendel before the decision was announced. "They both have a lot of experiences working with the people they need to work with for this position."
After several rounds of discussion, Amalfitano ultimately won the 13 votes required to secure the position.
While Zaidi beat Wharton sophomore Ryan Houston for treasurer by a vote of 15-9, it was Houston's later decision that riled many of those present.
After Houston lost the treasurer race, Webley nominated him to oppose the previously unopposed Cheng for secretary. Houston at first appeared befuddled at the nomination.
Webley then pulled Houston out of the voting room to discuss the proposed candidacy.
When the two returned, however, Houston's speech and the debate that followed focused less on the capabilities of the candidates than on the position itself.
Houston ran on a vague platform that aimed to create a "new position of secretary" that would focus on providing tangible student services in lieu of the traditional duties of the job.
A number of both past and present UA members balked at the proposal, presented for the first time at the 4 a.m. election, as it essentially created a new set of duties for the already-established secretary position.
After a both heated and confused discussion on what the proposed position would entail, former UA Treasurer and Wharton senior Ben Coulter said what others in the room seemed to avoid.
"This position hasn't been thought out before the whole body - it's creating a race that didn't really exist," Coulter pointed out. "I think this is a mockery of the role of secretary."
Ultimately, Cheng won the position of secretary after a short discussion by the UA.
Webley later expressed in an e-mail that the secretary race was an unfortunate ending to the election process, noting that "Ryan, Faye, and the Body were the victims."
However, he concluded by saying that the elected group "balances experience and dynamism, and the 15-hour process to elect them is testament to the very rich fields of talent from which they were chosen."
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