Update April 10, 2018: Recent events have called into question the election and a Judicial Board ruling invalidated the results for president and vice president. Read the latest story here. Additional coverage is available here and here.
A feeling of nervous excitement filled the room as students gathered to hear the result of the 2018 student government elections the evening of March 7. Alejandra Barriere, elections board co-chair, finally announced the results at 7 p.m.
With 55 percent of the vote, students elected Vince Chavez to president and Davina Cepeda to vice president for the 2018-2019 school year.
Out of 14 senatorial candidates, 11 won seats for the 2018-2019 session: Sofia Grande, Taryn Llorente, Emily Duong, Jonathan Abbott, Emily Elder, Taryn Loun, Maribel Garcia-Igueldo, Colten Sullivent, Matthew Leeper, Gregory Olson and Matthew Frohlich.
Students also voted to modify the Associated Students of Washington State University Vancouver Constitution to increase the minimum GPA requirement for student government officials from 2.0 to a 2.5 GPA. The amendment required a minimum of 15 percent of the student body to approve the measure. The amendment passed with 72 percent approval from students who voted and 16.3 percent approval of the entire student body.
Danick Gershun, co-chair of the Elections Board, said more than 21 percent of the student body voted this year. That is a significant increase over the 12 percent turnout in last-year’s election and the biggest turnout the campus has seen in 5 years.
All elected students will officially take office following the commencement ceremony in May.
The two successful executive candidates said they were emotional and excited. “It feels unreal—all the love and support here,” said Chavez.
Both Chavez and Cepeda said their celebration plans for the night were “dinner and homework.” “Maybe we’ll celebrate over the weekend and Spring Break,” said Chavez.
The two campaigned on a three-pillared platform promoting advocacy, compassion and transparency. In a previous interview with The VanCougar, Chavez and Cepeda they want to promote community outreach efforts, create resource awareness and foster Cougar pride. They said they especially want to encourage diversity on campus. “Hopefully we can encourage promoting their own self-identity and diversity. Diversity doesn’t have to include just culture. It’s deeper than skin. Diversity can be personality and your beliefs,” said Cepeda.
When asked about what is next, Chavez said, “We’re going to have a lot of talks with [the current president and vice president] Jose and Naomi.”
Current ASWSUV President Jose Scott said he looks forward to working with Chavez and Cepeda. “We’re going to make sure we have a smooth transition with a lot of training,” he said.
Both Chavez and Cepeda said the campaign was exciting. “It was a very stressful time but a great learning experience,” said Cepeda. “I think it was only just a taste of what it going to be like as a student leader.”
The candidates say they look forward to helping students and the campus. “We’re really excited to start improving the Vancougar experience,” said Chavez.
To learn more about Chavez and Cepeda, make sure to check out The VanCougar’s pre-election coverage.