Final recounts for the student senate elections changed the fifth spot for off-campus housing senator by one vote; the rest of winners remained the same.
In the original count, Voice party candidate Don Finley held the fifth off-campus housing senator position, but the recount showed Strategery party candidate Heather Longenecker was the winner, said Randi Rico, member of Student Senate board of elections.
The recount took more than a week to complete because there were only two or three counters at a time during regular office hours, Rico said. On election night, 14 counters finished the job in seven hours.
The recount results are still unofficial until board of elections chairman John Hart reviews the financial reports from the candidates, she said. Hart was out of town last weekend and unable to review the results.
The board will review the reports and make sure everyone was within guidelines, said vice president of student affairs Mike Sostarich.
Those who remain the executives of senate would receive tuition compensations, he said.
"The president receives full tuition and vice president and treasurer half - because we don't want to discourage someone from serving on student senate because they can't afford to financially," Sostarich said. "We've had people in the past in this situation, and it just wasn't fair."
The tuition compensation is necessary because those serving executive positions are unable to work other jobs, said Katherine Smith, Student Senate president.
She said she is required to spend 12 hours in the senate office each week, and those hours do not count senate meetings, meetings with commissioners or administrators and all of the other time she devotes to senate. Senators also represent student interest with administrators.
Smith said she attended a conference with the Association of College Unions International in Chicago with OU administrators to discuss best methods of construction for the student center and hear ideas from other schools about plans that worked.
The tuition compensation is fair, said Jamie Walter, newly elected Student Senate president.
"I am taking fewer classes to make sure I have the amount of time needed to dedicate myself fully to senate," Walter said.
With the financial problems the university is already facing, newly elected senate vice president Katie Simpson thinks the compensation is too much, but she has not decided whether she will decline the waiver.
"I don't think waiver for Student Senate should be so large, especially with the budget crunch," Simpson said.
She said she also thought a lot of money was spent on the elections this year.
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