Maahika Srinivasan ’15 and Sazzy Gourley ’16 lead their opponents in the races for president and vice president of the Undergraduate Council of Students, respectively, according to the results of a Herald exit poll conducted Tuesday and Wednesday.
Online voting for leadership positions on UCS and the Undergraduate Finance Board ended Thursday at noon. Undergraduates could vote starting Tuesday at noon.
The Herald poll asked whom students intended to vote for or had already voted for in the UCS presidential race. Of 342 students who selected a candidate, Srinivasan, the UCS Academics and Administrative Affairs Committee chair, received 177 votes, or 51.8 percent. Jonathan Vu ’15, class of 2015 president and former UCS alumni liaison, received 100 votes, or 29.2 percent, and Asia Nelson ’15, UCS general body member, received 65 votes, or 19 percent.
All candidates spoke with The Herald before polls closed at noon Thursday.
“I’m really excited (but) I by no means think that it’s the end,” Srinivasan said in response to the poll results. “I think that it just says that this is where we are right now.”
Srinivasan highlighted stories she has heard from undergraduates during the campaign about their experiences with the University’s mental health services or sexual assault policies. She emphasized “how much we need to be working and we need to be doing things” to address such issues.
In-person conversations have been “the most effective” way to meet voters, often leading to “the most productive conversations (and) the most exciting people,” she added.
“It’s felt like a tight race,” Vu said. “Obviously I hope that the numbers will be closer than that, but I guess we’ll see. … I’m not surprised, but I’m also optimistic.”
Vu stressed the strong efforts all three candidates have made, describing how “we’ve all worked on this” and saying he is “going to hope for the best and see what happens.”
Improving the flexibility of meal plans is “something that affects everybody” and “something that a lot of folks commiserate with,” Vu said, adding that he discussed this tenet of his platform in person with undergrads.
Nelson said her interactions with students have given her a new perspective on the undergraduate experience at Brown. “I’m doing me, honestly, I’m having a great time,” she said. “I’m meeting people, I’m learning a lot from the position. This election really makes you think, ‘Why do you love Brown?’ and literally, I can come up with a thousand reasons now after this election process,” she said.
“I think that everyone should run for a position within UCS because you get to learn so much about this school, so much about your fellow peers and what they’re concerned with,” Nelson added.
The outcome of the race for UCS vice president may be less close than the presidential campaign, according to the Herald exit poll results. Gourley, chair of the UCS Admissions and Student Services committee, received 206 votes of 290 students surveyed, or 71 percent, while Alex Drechsler ’15, chair of the UCS Student Activities committee, received 84 votes, or 29 percent.
“I think my platform is comprehensive of a lot of student issues, and … it was created through ideas that students themselves want to see and push forward,” Gourley said in response to his lead in the poll. “This campaign is trying to be as inclusive as possible,” he added.
Drechsler expressed determination to continue campaigning in an enthusiastic manner. He said he planned to “get my name out, get the word out, get people to vote and see if I can do my best” before the polls closed.
“Just meeting with students, talking to students, getting the message out as much as possible is really, I think, all that I can do,” Drechsler added.
UCS and UFB election results will be announced on the Faunce steps tonight at 11:59 p.m. by the UCS Elections Board.
Alex Sherry ’15, the current UFB vice chair, is running unopposed for UFB chair. Dakotah Rice ’16, a UFB representative, is running uncontested for UFB vice chair.
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