Wilson wins student body president elections

The results are in. After 2,065 students voted, the new student body president and vice president are Rob Wilson and Dylan Palmer, respectively. The junior duo defeated opponents Timothy Quinneyand Alexandra Eicher by 102 votes after several intense debates and weeks of campaigning. 

Wilson and Palmer received 1,061 votes (51.38 percent), and Quinney and Eicher received 959 votes (46.44 percent). There were also 45 write-in votes (2.17 percent) for both president and vice president.  

Peter Duffield won the USSBR Student Trustee position unopposed, with 1,902 votes (92.1 percent). There were also 163 write-ins for the position, accounting for 7.89 percent of the votes. 

There was a slight issue with the voting process, due to an error on the voting web site’s part, according to Peter Geyer, Public Relations Chair of Senate. The newly launched Wildcat Link site allowed 42 non-students, most of which were alumni who were still active in the Blackboard accounts, to vote. However, senate contacted the site and the votes were immediately removed. 

“The results are exactly the same,” Geyer said. 

Wilson said he was “happy” to be elected as student body president.

“I am really excited to call my family back home in Chicago and tell them that I’m not just a college student, but that I’m also student body president,” Wilson said. 

Wilson commented that he is from the 43rd Street area in Chicago, and that many people never even make it out of the neighborhood. 

Wilson’s victory also particularly excited him because this is his third time running for office at UNH. During his freshman year, Wilson ran for vice president. Last year, he ran for president, but his running mate dropped from the race, and he had to debate and continue his campaign alone. Ultimately, he lost by 90 votes. 

Palmer, too, was excited that he and his partner won, but he knew that it was going to be a close race because, as he said, both teams did a great job campaigning and had a lot to offer. 

“I did not expect to win but, at the same time, I also did not expect to lose. I was stuck in this fifty-fifty middle ground, but I am really happy and look forward to what I can offer the school,” Palmer said. 

According to their Facebook page, the duo’s platform focuses on, “listening to the student body’s voice, support for Medical Amnesty, transparent advising, a more transparent Blackboard, expansion of the gym, sustainability awareness, and an easier repeal of parking tickets.” In addition, the pair wants to focus on making the campus safer, preventing further budget cuts to the Women’s Studies program and other programs that promote diversity, and also on the “huge accessibility” problem on campus.

Though they have a busy agenda for the upcoming year, Wilson and Palmer both want students to be aware that they are here to listen.

“Everyone has a voice,” Palmer said. “Every little group on campus needs to be heard.”

The two plan to attend hall council meetings and speak with constituents, and also to engage in more activism and diversity endeavors on campus. Wilson will serve on the Steering Committee for the Campus Master Plan, and is also involved with the Student Environmental Action Coalition and the Peace and Justice League. He believes that his connections and range of interests will serve the position of presidency well. 

Palmer and Wilson have been friends since freshman year and, according to their Facebook page, are “extremely proud of [their] opponents and humbled by this victory.”