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Unopposed candidates David Bruen and Darnelle Stinfort will become president and vice president of Syracuse University’s Student Association, respectively, the organization’s Board of Elections and Membership chair confirmed Friday.

Bruen and Stinfort still needed 10% of the SU student body to vote in the election for their victory to be legitimate. SA had recorded 10.2% voter turnout as of Friday, Board of Elections and Membership Chair Brendan Treloar confirmed in an email to The Daily Orange.

Nyah Jones, who also ran unopposed, will become SA’s next comptroller. Voting on MySlice will officially end at midnight.

If Bruen and Stinfort were unable to receive the amount of votes they needed by the conclusion of voting, SA bylaws would have allowed them to extend voting by 24 hours. If voter turnout didn’t reach 10% by the end of the extra day, the results would have been declared invalid, and the speaker of the assembly would have become acting president until SA could hold another election.

Bruen, a sophomore studying political science and policy studies, currently serves as SA’s speaker of assembly, and would have become acting president temporarily if the turnout requirement wasn’t reached.

The current turnout of 10.2% is still well behind last year’s election, which ended with 16.2% voter turnout and a victory for current SA President Justine Hastings and Vice President Jeremy Golden.

Bruen and Stinfort’s campaign platform centered on financial accessibility, health and safety, academic advancements and community inclusivity. The pair have proposed, among other initiatives, a fixed tuition program that would guarantee students only pay the tuition rate that was set when they started their four years at SU, although it is unclear how they would implement such a plan.

They’ve also advocated for initiatives focused on supporting students’ mental health and raising awareness for sexual assault on campus.

Jones will take over as comptroller for Julio Burgos. The comptroller acts as the chief financial officer of SA, managing the organization’s budget and approving all spending measures. Registered student organizations at the university can apply for funding from SA.

Jones has said she would like to use social media to increase awareness of SA’s Finance Board and the support it can provide to student organizations on campus. She has served on SA’s Finance Board for the past two years.

Published on April 30, 2021 at 2:42 pm

Contact Chris: cjhippen@syr.edu