The Daily Northwestern
In a race expected to swing in her favor, Jane Lee captured the Associated Student Government presidency in a blowout victory over opponent Andy Kaufman on Tuesday.
Lee’s yawn of a victory — 67.4 percent of the vote compared to Kaufman’s 19.3 percent — reveals confidence in her leadership, but the race brought with it no guarantees, she said.
“ASG has the potential for doing a lot of amazing things on campus,” Lee said. “This year is going to be the year we hopefully can make a lot of changes on this campus.”
Kaufman refused to comment on his loss — the worst ASG has seen in a presidential race since 1992.
Lee spent Tuesday in a frantic campaign rush, shaking hands at Norris University Center in the afternoon, rushing to Elder Hall to meet diners and then back to Norris for the last hour of the race.
Bouncing from table to table on the Norris ground floor during the race’s 11th hour, Lee approached packs of seated students and, with a Southern Californian glow, heckled them to cast their votes while there was still time.
“Hi, I’m Jane … ” she began saying to a table of students at 7 p.m. — an hour before polls closed. The exchange that followed was not an uncommon one.
“Hi Jane. We voted and — don’t worry — we all voted for you.”
“Yeah, you already won,” a student said with a smirk. “They didn’t tell you?”
But despite the generous reassurances that came from her friends, as well as from many voters, there was no cockiness in Lee’s demeanor — both before and after the results came in.
“I’m nervous — I think every candidate is nervous,” she said in between exhanging hugs with supporters in Norris.
Lee returned to the Kappa Delta sorority house after the polls closed at 8 p.m., nervously awaiting the election results alongside her friends and fellow sorority members. A hockey game played on the TV while the group waited for the phone call from election commissioner Adam Forsyth.
With the phone to her ear, a small, anxious crowd had gathered around Lee in the KD living room.
“Sixty-seven-point-four percent!” she screamed to the throng, which cheered her victory. “Hold on, I need a tissue.”
The campaign was a stressful one; nothing was guaranteed, campaign manager Jenny Kim said. The two faced problems not unlike those faced in real-world elections.
“We knew we had a lot of support, but it’s been a matter of getting the people out to vote,” Kim said. “But Jane is the most qualified candidate. People knew she has experience and great plans for the future.”
Lee said she has a number of plans for ASG once she takes over the position held by Mike Fong, who appeared at KD to celebrate Lee’s victory. She emphasized enhancing community at Northwestern, involving more students in the governing process and answering students’ academic concerns.
One idea she outlined called for a “sports night,” where students from across campus gather in Norris to watch major NU games.
“Clearing out the tables, bringing in a TV, and bonding with other students while watching a Northwestern game,” she envisioned.
After Lee learned of her victory, Fong dragged her outside into the sorority quads to carry out an ASG tradition.
Surrounded by her friends, supporters, campaign staffers and an endless flash of cameras, the outgoing president gleefully cracked open a bottle of champagne — and then dumped the contents over Lee’s head.
