Weinberg juniors Julia Watson and Erik Zorn won the 2014 election for Associated Student Government president and executive vice president Wednesday, beating out the ticket of Alex Deitchman and running mate Ronak Patel.

The results of the election were announced during the organization’s weekly Senate meeting Wednesday night after the winning pair was informed of the outcome. Watson and Zorn were waiting in Fisk Hall with members of their campaign team. Election commissioner Dana Leinbach called Watson to tell the team about its success.

Watson said she was “super excited” upon learning the results and looks forward to serving NU during the upcoming year.

“From all the hard work we put into it, I’m excited to get started on the projects,” Watson said.

The pair received 84 percent of the votes, out of the total 1,758 ballots cast this year. The number dropped from last year’s voter turnout, which attracted more than 3,400. Leinbach suggested the decrease could be partially due to both the shortened campaign period and the presence of just two tickets on the ballot, compared to last year’s four.

Watson and Zorn organized their campaign around eight core values, noting this unique aspect of their platform allowed them to include a wider range of issues that students face campus-wide.

During the campaign period, the pair continuously updated their website showing support from student group leaders across campus. They also encouraged feedback through social media platforms over the past several days in an effort to “engage and empower” all students.

Watson and Zorn received the support of current ASG president Ani Ajith, a Weinberg senior, and executive vice president Alex Van Atta, a McCormick senior, in addition to endorsements from several other members of the ASG executive board.

“Julia and Erik are a fantastic team and they ran a great campaign,” Ajith said. “Both of them have executive experience and a lot of experience leading on difficult issues, which will help them tackle one of the most comprehensive and hard-charging agendas I’ve seen in my four years here.”

Zorn said although the shorter campaign period “cramped things up a bit,” he was happy with the way the campaign played out during the week.

“It was very intense just to pack everything into one week, but at least it doesn’t lag on like in previous years,” Zorn said. “It’s been wonderful to see all the hard work that we’ve put in really pay off.”

Deitchman said despite not winning, through his campaign period, he accomplished all of his goals upon entering the race, and is looking forward to remaining involved in Senate in the future.

“I felt like we accomplished basically everything that we set out to do,” he said. “I entered the race with the idea that even if I wasn’t the one who won, I would make sure that the person who was the victor convinced me that they were the right person for the job and that was exactly what Julia and Erik did.”

Tyler Pager contributed reporting. 

Email: rebeccasavransky2015@u.northwestern.edu
Twitter: @beccasavransky