Correction appended.
The unopposed Bridge ticket won Ohio University’s 2018-19 Student Senate election.
There were 673 undergraduate students on the Athens campus who voted in the election this year. Maddie Sloat was elected president, Hannah Burke was elected vice president and Lydia Ramlo was elected treasurer.
“We were disappointed that there was not another competitor. I think that we’re all better when we’re being challenged in these circumstances,” Sloat said. “But I’m really excited to hear the diversity of opinions and all the new ideas that everyone is going to bring.”
The results of the Senate elections were announced Tuesday night in the Walter Hall Rotunda. Voting started Tuesday at 7 a.m. and lasted until 7 p.m.
Voter turnout decreased by 1,529 students compared to the 2,202 students that voted in the 2017-18 election. Less than 4 percent of the undergraduate student population voted in this election.
“This is not uncommon to have low voter turnout, for any Senate-related initiative. We are very consistent with other universities,” current Student Senate President Landen Lama said.
Bridge’s platform is focused on “bridging the gap” between students and university officials. Some of their specific platform points relate to sustainability, sexual misconduct prevention and shared governance.
Dean of Students Jenny Hall-Jones agreed that increased transparency between the administration and students should be a high priority.
“I think probably one of the biggest issues is the open line of communication,” Hall-Jones said. “Anything we can do to make that better is great.”
During the 2017-18 election, three tickets ran for executive positions in Student Senate. In the 2016-17 election, two tickets ran.
Lama said the election was “bittersweet,” but he looks forward to the rest of his term.
“I don’t think I am done. We still have three weeks to create some chaos,” Lama said.
Correction: A previous version of this report misstated the percentage of students who voted in the election. The article has been updated to reflect the most accurate information.
