Závon Billups was elected president of the class of 2018, according to election results announced at the Levee on Tuesday night.

Securing 416 votes, Billups is joined by Joe Harding, Cara Gibbons, Jack Daniels and Tristan Smith who topped 11 other candidates to serve as the newly minted Fairfield University Student Association senators of the freshmen class.

At a post-election event hosted by FUSA at the Levee, Billups, a politics major who ran under the campaign slogan “Strong Mind, Strong Body, Great Leader,” reflected on his campaign, saying that while news of his victory was welcome, it was not surprising. “I worked hard to get here,” he said.

“There were a lot of great candidates, he added. “I knew it would be close.”

Now that the election is behind him, Billups says that one of his first priorities as president will be “finding out why exactly we don’t have a football team,” adding that he is aware that he is “not at a level to make that happen.”

Football aside, Billups says he plans to spend his term serving as an intermediary between students and administration. “I want to convey the thoughts and feelings of the students to the higher powers,” he said.

While Billups knows that his ideas might not always win him admirers within the administration, he remains determined; “I always butted heads with my principal in high school,” he said. “But I did it in a respectful way.”

Chair of Senate Hope Agresta ’16 said that this year’s freshmen election was unique in that a new voting format was introduced; instead of paper ballots, students could vote from the comfort of their dorm rooms using OrgSync.

“We had computers set up near the BCC info desk in case anybody needed help,” said Agresta.

Yet while the new voting procedure went smoothly, with over 60 percent of the class of 2018 participating, it did not increase voter participation. According to Agresta, this year’s voter percentage is similar to last year’s.

In regards to future elections, Agresta said that using OrgSync for future FUSA elections “is still a topic of conversation,” adding that only freshmen have been trained to use the virtual polling booth.

About The Author

-- Senior | Assistant News Editor -- English

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.