According to Kyra Toomre, executive secretary of the Student Government Association (SGA), the results for the freshmen class elections to the SGA have been certified.
Jonathan Loewenberg is the President-elect of the Class of 2017. The Senators-elect are Gaurav Verma, Jonathan (JB) Brown, Mary Adelaide Morphett, Matthew Brown, Nick McCormack and Ope Olukorede.
An email announcing the results to the freshmen class from Director of Student Activities Robert J. Turning was obtained by The News-Letter. This email reveals that Lowenberg received 16.3 percent of the vote with 109 votes. The next-highest vote total for President, in a field of seven candidates, was in abstentions —refraining from voting for any candidate — at 15.1 percent or 101 votes.
“I can’t say definitively what accounts for the high number of abstentions,” Chair of the Committee on Student Elections Laura Perkinson wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “We didn’t have any candidate fail to qualify through an invalid petition or any drop outs.”
In the senatorial race, Olukorede received the most votes with 251 votes. Following her was Jonathan Brown (219 votes), Matthew Brown (210 votes), Morphett (209 votes), McCormack (184 votes) and Verma (178 votes).
In sharp contrast to the presidential race, there were no votes cast as abstentions. Perkinson mentioned that some students may have been more concerned with voting for a particular senate candidate.
“Since they are freshmen and only have been at Hopkins for about a month, they may not have known the presidential candidates and chosen just to abstain rather than vote for an unknown student before moving on to the senate race, the one they really cared about,” Perkinson wrote. “However, like I said, I can’t pinpoint one conclusive reason to account for all the abstentions.”
Voter turnout was very sharply decreased from last year’s freshmen class SGA election. Last year, 854 votes were cast, compared to a mere 669 ballots this year.
Lowenberg, in a campaign video published to YouTube, explained his campaign philosophy. “I’m not here to make any crazy promises about what I could do to the campus,” Lowenberg said into the camera. “I’m just here to advocate on behalf of the student body and help us have the best year we can.”
According to Perkinson, there are no outstanding appeals of the results.
"This election went very smoothly, I'm pleased to report very few campaign violations and no formal complaints," Perkinson wrote. "It was great to start the year off with a good-spirited, fair election, and the SGA and myself are excited to welcome the new class of Senators."
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story, and it will be updated as more information becomes available.
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