USG flips coin to decide Director of Community Affairs

Members+of+Undergraduate+Student+Government+nervously+wait+for+the+results+from+the+elections+held+from+7am-7pm+March+8%2C+2016.

Members of Undergraduate Student Government nervously wait for the results from the elections held from 7am-7pm March 8, 2016.

Anthony Calvaruso

In the opening minutes of Wednesday’s Kent State Undergraduate Student Government meeting, a coin flip was conducted to decide the next Director of Community Affairs, a position that ultimately ended in a tie in this year’s USG elections.  

Collin Czehut, a senior applied engineering major, won the coin toss. He described the waiting period as an adrenaline rush and called the experience a “great race,” saying that he looks forward to being a part of USG. 

“As Director of Community Affairs, I want to bring more of a diverse community and bring everyone available because this campus is very diverse, as we all know,” Czehut said.  

USG Elections Winners and Vote Percentage

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Samuel Graska // 69% of votes

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RUNNERS UP:

Matthew Chernesky // 30% of votes

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DIRECTOR OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Natalia Roman // 98% of votes

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DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE

Andrew Pieri // 61% of votes

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RUNNERS UP:

James Flanagan // 38% of votes

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DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATION

Nathan LaChance // 73% of votes

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Runners Up

Wei Si // 21% of votes

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Junesung Cho // 4% of votes

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DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS: TIE

Collin Czehut // 50% of votes

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Zachary Glover // 50% of votes

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DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

Keri Richmond // 64% of votes

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RUNNERS UP:

Alexis Lewis // 34% of votes

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DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING

Clifford Glowacki // 28% of votes

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RUNNERS UP:

Logan Pringle // 27.8% of votes

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Alexandra Gray // 25.7% of votes

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Emonte Wimbush // 17.8% of votes

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DIRECTOR OF STUDENT ADVANCEMENT

Ariella Yager // 97% of Votes

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DIRECTOR OF STUDENT INVOLVEMENT

Olivia Mullen // 41% of votes

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RUNNERS UP:

Brendon Schrock // 32% of votes

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Elise Szabo // 14% of votes

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Kun Kang // 10% of votes

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SENATOR FOR THE

COLLEGE OF APPLIED ENGINEERING, SUSTAINABILITY, AND TECHNOLOGY

Cody Mehalic // 100% of votes

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SENATOR FOR THE COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN

Zhamilya Suieubayeva // 75% of votes

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RUNNERS UP:

Susan George // 19 % of votes

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SENATOR FOR THE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS

Samantha Johnson // 54% of votes

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RUNNERS UP:

Caleb Ashcraft // 32% of votes

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Mara Schoch // 14% of cotes

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SENATOR FOR THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Troy Kotsch // 72% of votes

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RUNNERS UP:

Ryan Rylow // 26% of votes

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SENATOR FOR THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Brian Brown // 97% of votes

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SENATOR FOR THE COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION

Nicholas Peters // 83% of votes

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RUNNERS UP:

Amrita Datta // 11% of votes

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SENATOR FOR THE COLLEGE OF NURSING

Melissa North // 100% of votes

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SENATOR FOR THE COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Brittany Johnson // 100% of votes

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SENATOR FOR THE HONORS COLLEGE

Kathleen Moorman // 97% of votes

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The Ballot Access Act was proposed at the last meeting and voted against on Wednesday. The act, proposed by Senator at Large Matthew Chernesky, would lower the signature requirement to run for USG offices.

As the policy states now, students must get the equivalent of 1 percent of the student population, which is around 300 signatures. If the act passed, it would have lowered the number to 50 required signatures.

“We’ve always struggled with getting people involved in our elections,” Chernesky said. “By lowering the bar, it would encourage more people to want to run for office. It should be easy to run and hard to win.”

Some members who opposed the bill commented that talking to 300 students about USG is a good way to spread awareness about the organization to the student population. 

A resolution that did pass was one indicating USG support for Ohio House Bill 183, which would give student members of the Board of Trustees at Kent State, among other Ohio universities, voting power and the authority to attend executive sessions. 

Anthony Calvaruso is a student politics reporter for the Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].