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Thursday, 08 March 2012 02:37

Close race to the finish for elected student body president Featured

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George Papadeas (left) and Brian Goff (right) George Papadeas (left) and Brian Goff (right) From USF Student Government

USF has spoken. Say hello to Brian Goff and George Papadeas – your new student body president and vice president.

The pair began campaigning three weeks ago, reaching out to student organizations and promoting ACT, their platform consisting of advocate, communicate and tradition developing. Goff and Papadeas received 29 percent of the 7,231 votes after the first round of voting. But 2,096 votes weren't enough to prevent a runoff election with Sarah Pollei and running mate Antonio Morales, who received 26 percent of votes that round.

The second round of voting lasted only two days, starting March 6 at 8 a.m. and ending March 7 at 8 p.m., thirty minutes before the announcement was made on the Marshall Student Center lawn. The Election Rules Committee tallied 3,072 votes. Again, the race was extremely close. Goff and Papadeas received 53 percent of the votes, Pollei and Morales 47 percent.

If Pollei had won the position as student body president, she would have immediately began rounding up her staff. However, now without this responsibility, her near future plans are different. She said she had not been sleeping recently, due to the elections and other pressure.

"I'm going to relax, get off Facebook," Pollei said. "Spring break is right around the corner."

Goff and Papadeas can't relax. "There's so many things to do," Goff said.

Goff's highest priority is hiring his staff. His first step is to talk to all current staff members and ask them what they think.

"I'm going to get a staff hired to get the ball rolling," he said, "so when the students get back in the fall, we can have a great year."

"We talked the talk, now it's time to walk the walk," Papadeas said. "We're going to follow up on what we've been preaching."

In the joy of the moment, Papadeas couldn't help but cry. "When you put a lot of work, a lot of emotion, and a lot of desire into something, when you get the end result you wanted, it all comes back to you at once," Papadeas said. "It's pure elation."

Read 1033 times Last modified on Wednesday, 11 April 2012 21:12