[RED]EFINE wins RHA elections, to take office April 1

Students in all residence halls elected [RED]EFINE the newest Residence Halls Association board on Tuesday.

The election commissioner announced [RED]EFINE the winner two hours after the polls closed. The board will take its place on April 1.

“We’ll be working hard to transition and finish off the year right,” said junior and incoming RHA president Katie Lambert.

Freshman Hailey Butchart, who sat at the polling table during the day in Wright Quad encouraging voters and answering questions, said quite a few people voted during her shift.

“I’ve been here for about an hour and a half and a lot of people have come by,” she said.

Freshman Pamela Crawford said she cast her ballot early.

“A friend of mine is involved in student government and she told me about it,” she said. “They had a lot of programs this year that were fun. I liked it.”

Several students admitted to not being familiar with the tickets before voting. But freshman Claire Robinson said she followed the campaign closely and presented herself at the voting table with a clear decision of who she wanted to elect for next year’s board.

“This is very important to me,” she said.

Robinson said being in student government as a vice governor at Wright Quad helped her to be involved and meet people. She said she based her decision on which platforms she thought were possible.

Before the polls opened, members of the [RED]EFINE ticket were preparing a strategy in an effort to tackle the campus. They split up and visited dorms, passed out fliers, introduced themselves to students and encouraged them to take advantage of the opportunity to elect a new board.

Vote Naked! also worked to encourage students to vote, visiting classes and handing out candy at residence halls.

Both Vote Naked! and [RED]EFINE also promoted their tickets by painting their cars and driving around campus.

As voting wound down to the last hour, students surrounded Wright’s polling table, making sure they were represented in the election.

The new board waited patiently at Wright Formal Lounge to hear the news of the election results.

“We are just relaxing and spending time together,” Lambert said. 

She added that she looks forward to begin working to solidify her ticket’s platforms.
“I think the most important thing is to first establish a strong relationship between all 11 centers, actually 12, next year,” Lambert said.