Gary Broadbent, executive director of USS, congratulates Valerie Fatica at the USS office in the Student Center yesterday.

Credit: Beth Rankin

Valerie J. Fatica, senior political science major, won the senator for university affairs position in the Undergraduate Student Senate special election yesterday. Fatica won 131 of the 418 total votes.

“Feels good,” Fatica said after learning the election results. “I’d like to thank my supporters and my pals who helped out.”

Fatica has experience working on several USS committees and running the judicial advocate program. Continuing to run this program is one of her duties as senator for university affairs.

She said the last senator to hold her position, Michael Termine, did not run the program adequately. This factored into her decision to run for senator.

“I figured if you want something done right, you should do it yourself,” Fatica said. “I can go in and get the job done.”

“It’s nice to see that the students voted for a really good candidate,” Sen. Adam Croweak said, noting Fatica’s prior USS involvement. “It’s nice to see that she’ll get some recognition.”

Fatica will hold this position for the semester but will not seek re-election because she is

graduating.

Executive Director Gary Broadbent said he thought the election went well, though some students who attempted to vote in the earlier hours of the election were unable to cast votes.

Students who accessed Web For Students through FlashLine were not given the option to vote; however, the voting links on the USS Web site and on the Web For Students site worked correctly.

“We’ve gotten almost every kink out of the system,” Broadbent said, “and every vote counts.”

Contact student politics reporter Jessica Rothschuh at [email protected].