A close presidential race resulted in the election of junior Trey Chiu and junior Ivanna Tucker as president and vice-president, respectively, for the Associated Students of Linfield College.
The presidential race was won by only 27 votes. Junior Gabe Wells received 303 votes out of a total of 653, or about 42 percent of the student body.
“Gabe is a really great guy,” Chiu said, “And I only won by about a classroom’s worth. It could have gone either way, so I felt really lucky to win.”
Tucker, who ran unopposed, was still elated to find out she had won.
“It was surprising, well, I was the only candidate so not that surprising,” Tucker said. “It was surreal because it actually finally hit me that I was vice-president. It is definitely something different to get used to. People have been stopping me to say congratulations a lot.”
Chiu and Tucker are enthusiastic about creating a feeling of togetherness and school spirit. Both feel a special connection to Linfield and want to make the college as welcoming as possible for all students.
“Integrating learning in your life is something that a liberal arts education is all about,” Chiu said. “I think that’s one thing people sort of overlook, they might come here for one thing and forget to look the other direction. It’s all about widening our horizons and not having our blinders on so much.”
“When I found out I won I immediately started thinking about ways I could start changing,” Tucker said. “I’m passionate about Linfield and I want people to have an experience here that is bold and that they can remember fondly for the rest of their lives.”
While Dan Fergueson, the director of college activities, and the newly elected candidates are focusing on ASLC cabinet applications right now are also looking ahead to the future. Tucker spoke about advocating for adequate parking on campus and plans to speak with Campus Public Safety, Jeff McKay and Linfield facilities about getting more parking for older students living in the HP apartments.
Chiu thinks a second Play Fair event at the end of fall semester might help students find more opportunities to get involved and help clubs struggling to increase their memberships.
“It seems like a lot of clubs are having trouble finding members, so it would be cool to give people a second chance to join,” Chiu said. “The first week is tough for a lot of freshmen and maybe they are too shy to sign up for something at that time, but later in the semester they could be more open to it.”
The two also want Linfield students to know how open and responsive they are to student concerns. They hope that their outgoing personalities will make it easier for students to feel that they are approachable and here to help.
“I’m very open and I’m not someone to hold something back,” Tucker said. “I want people to know that I’m someone you can talk to for advice and I’ll give you my honest response. I won’t hold back from expressing my opinion even to the Board of Trustees. But in a professional way.”
Chiu and Tucker will review cabinet applications this week to fill out ASLC for 2014-2015.
Olivia Marovich / News editor
Olivia Marovich can be reached at
[email protected].
