Energy and spirits were high at last night’s PRIDE!Kent meeting as members voted on new board members.

After a few minutes of laughs between members, ballots were counted, and Kevin Casimer was named president, Carrie Wicks vice president, Cassie McClelland programming director, Amy Lennon treasurer and Colleen Eltibi secretary.

The position of allies chair remained unfilled, and former Vice President Shawn Szymecki said anyone who wishes to run may do so.

All the candidates ran unopposed, except for newly elected president, Casimer. Former President Amanda Boyd ran against him as a write-in candidate but was unable to attend the meeting.

“Amanda Boyd is seriously ill and has been for the past 48 hours, which is why she’s not here tonight,” said Eltibi, speaking on Boyd’s behalf. “She wishes to be written in as president.”

Casimer, freshman history major, said he plans to make many changes during his term.

“I know there are only two months left, and I, myself, am only here for two more months, which is why I have a greater sense of urgency to make things happen,” he said. “I want to get as much crammed in as possible.

Some of Casimer’s priorities include plans to boost membership by holding a movie night once a week. He said he also wants to get involved in community service.

“One other thing that I’ve been playing with is setting up a generic-type AIM screen name, like PRIDE!Kent, or something, so that people on campus who have questions can have someone to talk to and still remain anonymous,” he said.

Casimer also plans to get the PRIDE!Kent Web site, which hasn’t been updated in over a year, running again.

“Until we get the website back up, look at the PRIDE!Kent Facebook profile for updates about meetings and other things,” he said.

During the meeting, members also voted on a theme for the upcoming lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender prom.

“Bad Prom” was the theme chosen; it only won by a small margin however, with the write-in theme of “Christopher Taylor Prom” trailing by one vote.

Many members joked, calling for a recount, and Eltibi yelled out, “‘Christopher Taylor Prom’ equals ‘Bad Prom,’ so anyone who wants to dress like Chris, just do it.”

Casimer closed the meeting by congratulating winners and reiterating that the board has a lot of hard work to do before next semester.

“I think the new board is going to work really hard, and the group will actually be shocked to see what we do get done,” he said.

Contact minority affairs reporter Elise Franco at [email protected].