The Daily Gamecock

In our opinion: Long SG yields good results

We congratulate Jonathan Kaufman and Lee Goble on their elections as student body president and vice president.

Though we endorsed Jonathan Holt, Kaufman's runoff opponent, we believe Kaufman's experience in Student Government will serve the student body well. Both candidates ran professional, organized campaigns that focused on the issues at hand. The candidates' seriousness of purpose, use of social media and public advocacy helped contribute to a turnout that shattered expectations. (Over 7,000 votes in a runoff? SG didn't hit the 5,000-vote goal in the first round, but maybe second time's the charm.) The extremely close election didn't hurt either.

As for the VP race, we are glad the soap opera is over. The drama of election violations, a bevy of write-in candidates from left field and the raw emotions made for a long election season for all of us.

Although we endorsed Goble, we must acknowledge Brian Samples' effort, commitment to his campaign and advocacy on the Greene Street gate issue. Whatever the stance of the students, having a tangible issue like the gates definitely led to this election being talked about and relevant.

This year's race had some high points for SG and the student body overall, but we must confess our pleasure at this campaign's end. Now, rather than focusing on the horse race, SG can get back to business. We can write about something else. And the student body can focus their passions on another issue — why Mother Nature continues to deny our pleas for snow.


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