Junior Stefani Jones will be the president of Duke Student Government for the 2013-2014 academic year.
Jones, current vice president for equity and outreach, defeated her opponent, junior Patrick Oathout, current executive vice president, Thursday by a vote of 1,497 to 725. Jones received 66.5 percent of the vote. Oathout received 32.2 percent, and write-in candidates received the remaining 29 votes, junior Sam Marks, DSG attorney general, wrote in an email Thursday.
“I am so, so excited, and I couldn’t feel more excited to be able to represent the student body next year,” Jones said. “I couldn’t ask for a better opponent or someone that I respected more than Patrick.”
Sophomore Nikolai Doytchinov, current vice president for academic affairs, was elected executive vice president. Doytchinov, who was the only candidate on the ballot after sophomore Tre’ Scott removed himself for the race Tuesday, received 90.56 percent of the vote.
“I am really excited and really honored. It is really humbling to be officially elected now,” Doytchinov said. “I am very excited to be working with Stefani, who is such a great advocate for students, next year.”
A total of 2,251 ballots were cast this year, compared to 2,542 votes last year. The turnout, given the total number of undergraduates, was approximately 33 percent.
Oathout was docked 30 votes from his total following a ruling by the DSG Judiciary. The group found that Oathout violated election policies by hanging a campaign banner in the East Union building on a balcony facing the Marketplace instead of letting the University Center for Activities and Events install the banner, chief justice Daniel Strunk, a junior, wrote in an email Thursday.
Oathout and Strunk are columnists for The Chronicle.
Marks added that the election process went “very smoothly” this year, and there were no complaints filed on election night.
“I want to commend all of the candidates because I think they did a tremendous job campaigning, and the campaign was extremely professional,” Marks said.
Jones said she is looking forward to a relaxing spring break before she begins implementing her platform for next year. First on her agenda as president is meeting with student leaders on campus to discuss to potential changes on campus next year.
She added that she wants to immediately begin working on additional dining options for students in the Fall to compensate for dining lost due to West Union renovations.
Oathout said he is honored to have run against Jones. He added that it was clear by the work that she put into her campaign that Jones wanted the position as much as he did.
“She really ran one of the best campaigns that I have ever seen at Duke,” Oathout said. “I look forward to serving under her next year because I do plan to stay involved with DSG in some capacity.”
Senior Alex Swain, president said Jones will be a great voice for the student body.
“I am really excited for new president and executive vice president,” Swain said. “They both really have a real vision of advocacy and what advocacy means for the student body.”
updated 1:10 a.m. March 8
This article has been changed to reflect that the ruling found that Oathout had permission to install the banner, but violated University rules, and thereby election policy, by not letting UCAE install it.
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