Shortly before 11:55 p.m., Justine Hastings logged onto Zoom for her virtual election watch party.

Friends of the presidential candidate logged on one by one. Hastings and her running mate, Ryan Golden, watched from their homes and waited for the results of this year’s Student Association election.

At about 12:19 a.m., the duo received a call from David Bruen, chair SA’s Board of Elections and Membership. Hastings and Golden had been elected to serve as the organization’s next president and vice president.

“Ryan and I look forward to meeting with the 64th legislative session of the Student Association,” Hastings said in a statement to The Daily Orange. “We’re gonna try our hardest to achieve the things we have on our platform.”

Hastings and Golden, both juniors, announced their candidacy on Feb. 18. Their campaign centers on five platforms: support for marginalized communities, campus accessibility, financial accessibility, SA accountability and student voice.

“We just wanna make sure we can unite this campus behind a common goal, that each student deserves a place here and each student deserves to be treated with respect,” Golden said in a statement.

Hastings, a secondary English education and English and textual studies dual major, is the secretary of Pride Union and an academic coach at the Center for Learning and Student Success.

Golden, who ran for SA president last year but lost to current president and vice president Mackenzie Mertikas and Sameeha Saied, majors in policy studies, political science and religion. He’s an RA and a former member of SA’s Board of Elections and Membership.

The pair supports the demands of #NotAgainSU, as well as the concerns of international, Jewish and indigenous students. #NotAgainSU, a movement led by Black students, has protested SU’s response to a series of racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic incidents that have occurred at or near campus since November.

In response to #NotAgainSU’s demands, Hastings and Golden plan to ask SU’s Board of Trustees to amend its bylaws to allow for the SA president and SA-elected student representative to each have half a vote on campus issues.

Furthering SA’s past initiatives addressing mental and physical health is another goal of Hastings and Golden’s campaign. The pair also intends to pursue housing reforms for students with disabilities and urge SU administration to make all campus buildings and classrooms accessible.

Hastings and Golden ran against two campaigns for SA president and vice president. Sophomores Morgan Eaton and David Williams launched their campaign for president and vice president on Feb. 27, followed by juniors Sadia Ahmed and Yanan Wang about a month later.

“We are so grateful to even run,” Wang said in a text message after the results were announced. “We wish Justine and Ryan the best and congratulate them and hope they will be representative of the student body and take our university forward.”

Eaton and Williams were not immediately available for comment.

SA will not release the exact number of votes that each candidate received, Bruen said in a text message. The tally of votes was only released in last year’s election because of last-minute suspensions and concerns of legitimacy, he said.

The voter turnout in this year’s election was 16.2%, Bruen said in an email. Last year’s election saw 21% of the student body vote.

“Considering the circumstances and the trying times we still remain in, this is a fantastic showing by the student body to choose their student leaders,” Bruen said.

As low-income students, Hastings and Golden want to make SU more financially accessible. In support of #NotAgainSU, the pair will encourage the Board of Trustees to either freeze tuition or create more tuition assistance programs.

The pair also hope to create more scholarships for students of marginalized identities, expand textbook affordability, create additional non-federal work study jobs and increase student employees’ salaries.

Hastings and Golden ran with the endorsement of junior Julio Burgos, who was elected as SA comptroller. The SA comptroller oversees SA’s Finance Board, which allocates the university’s student activities fee to the over 300 registered student organizations on campus.

Burgos––who was the sole candidate for the comptroller position––attended Hastings and Golden’s Zoom watch party.

“I’m extremely excited,” Burgos said. “I’m looking forward to getting back on campus and getting to work with the SA members.”

As comptroller, Burgos has pledged to make SA funding more accessible by providing one-on-one financial training to the fiscal agents on campus. Burgos has also said he would collaborate with student leaders to support minority groups on campus.

Burgos wants to get in touch with SA’s current comptroller, Stacy Omosa, and other SA members to begin drafting plans for next semester. He also wants to devise plans to engage the student body from a distance in the event students do not return to Main Campus in the fall.

“That’s going to be a bit of a challenge,” Burgos said. “At this point, everything’s just uncertain. We don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Hastings and Golden want to be transparent about SA’s spending, and have pledged to work with Burgos to use rollover funds to help student organizations and philanthropy.

After their win, the duo stepped away from the virtual watch party to speak with loved ones. Mertikas called Hastings shortly after she received the news of her election.

“I think Justine and Ryan are going to do an amazing job in these roles,” Mertikas said in a statement. “I am so excited to see where they take the organization over the next year.”

Both Hastings and Golden were in tears after hearing the news of their win, while attendees of the virtual watch party clapped for the new electees.

“We got it done,” the pair said in a statement on their Instagram. “Thank you deeply for your love and support.”

Published on April 17, 2020 at 1:43 am

Contact Sarah: scalessa@syr.edu | @sarahalessan