Morrison wins SGB presidency

‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt students elected Kevin Morrison to be their next Student Government Board president… ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt students elected Kevin Morrison to be their next Student Government Board president by a margin of fewer than 100 votes yesterday. ‘ ‘ ‘ Morrison’s board will consist of Lance Bonner, Andrew Freeman, Nila Devanath, Ada Noh, Charlie Shull, Alexa Jennings, Max Greenwald and Katlyn Jennings, current SGB president Sumter Link announced last night. ‘ ‘ ‘ Morrison, the current SGB allocations chair, beat Justin Romeo of the Integrity slate by 86 votes. Current board member Amanda Reed finished third in the presidential race and Dan Gore finished fourth. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I think I just had so many people behind me who believed in me,’ said Morrison. ‘Each of [the candidates] had something unique that defined them ‘hellip; And I respect them.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ About 4,000 students voted in the election, an increase from last year. ‘ ‘ ‘ All the totals separating the board member candidates were close. Bonner won the most votes, with Freeman and current board member Devanath finishing close behind. ‘ ‘ ‘ Link announced the results to a room packed with candidates, current and former board members and their friends. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Why can’t we have this much attendance at a board meeting?’ said current board member Perry Servedio. ‘ ‘ ‘ When Link said Morrison won, half of the room stood up and cheered. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I have full confidence in Kevin’s ability to be president,’ said Link. ‘It’s a very diverse board.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Romeo said he felt he did well despite his close second-place finish. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I’m very proud of my slate,’ said Romeo. ‘I believe that I had the best platform.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Reed said she was happy with the election despite her loss. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘If that’s what the students wanted, then that’s how it should be,’ she said. ‘I think for me personally, it gives me the chance to focus on other things that I really care about. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I think Kevin can do a good job. I think that board is amazing,’ she added. ‘It’s a well-rounded group of people.” ‘ ‘ ‘ Gore said he appreciated those who voted for him. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I would like to thank all of the 905 supporters of my candidacy who voted to revolutionize this campus,’ said Gore. ‘However, I am saddened for the University because today it lost its motto, ‘Victory did not go to the virtuous.” ‘ ‘ ‘ New charges precede new SGB ‘ ‘ ‘ Elections committee chair Pat Moroney said four charges were made last night, and in all four, the slates were found not guilty. ‘ ‘ ‘ Current board member Ryan Haddad filed two against the Revolution slate, concerning an e-mail sent by Gore about their endorsement from the Resident Student Association and flyers that Haddad said were illegally posted in dorms. ‘ ‘ ‘ Romeo filed a complaint against One Vision and One Voice. ‘ ‘ ‘ He said that he and another student witnessed someone wearing a One Vision One Voice shirt tearing down an Integrity poster. ‘ ‘ ‘ Moroney said the connection between the slate and the student was too loose, so the committee dismissed the charge. ‘ ‘ ‘ Another student filed a charge against One Vision One Voice because students from Engineering Student Council allegedly came into freshman classes, wrote the candidates on the board that they endorsed and told the students to vote on the computers in front of them. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It’s against the spirit of the elections code,’ said Romeo. ‘ ‘ ‘ Romeo said this violated a rule about campaigning in University buildings. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Morrison said if he had known about Engineering Student Council’s actions, he would have advised them not to go into the classrooms but that he was unaware of it. ‘ ‘ ‘ Gore said he felt disappointed in the dismissals. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I’m appalled at the lack of accountability visible on the elections committee,’ said Gore. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘For the elections committee to disregard such blatant evidence of illegal campaigning on elections day is disappointing and unacceptable.’