Bybee wins ASUSU presidency election
Results for the Associated Students of Utah State University elections were announced Thursday evening and culminated with the announcement of Celestial Starr Bybee as next year’s ASUSU president.
Nollie Haws, public relations vice president, opened the meeting. She thanked the 4,351 students who voted and commended them on the turnout.
Steve Palmer, ASUSU student body president, said, “I would like to thank the candidates for putting their names on the line to make the university a better place.”
“Oh my goodness,” said Erica Ensign, academic vice president elect, when she was told she won by just one vote. “I’m excited to do the best I can.”
Bybee, ASUSU president elect, said, “I’m feeling just so in shock but so calm and ready to move on.”
She said the first thing to tackle was training the new council and getting them to talk to their predecessors.
“Really, [the predecessor] is the person who has the knowledge,” she said.
She said she will also be working on communication. She wants to make the new council known to the student body.
Dan Phelps, service center director elect, said, “I am so overwhelmed. It’s really a dream come true … It feels like I’m at the Olympics.”
Bybee said, “People worked so hard and I am very excited about next year’s team.”
Jeffrey Leek, Science senator elect, said he was relieved after a long week of campaigning, but he was excited.
“I can’t even explain how excited I am,” said Julie Dethrow, arts and lectures vice president elect. “I’m fabulous, just fabulous and I’m just really excited about next year’s council. They’re awesome,” she said.
Bybee said the new officers will be sworn in and take office sometime around April 9.
“Now it’s time to bury the hatchet. Feelings have flown over the last few weeks, but now we are on the same team,” she said. “Regardless of what happened the last two weeks, we need to bury it and move on. We’re each others’ everything.”
Members of the Executive Council will be turningin their budgets by April 1.
Tiffany Leo, campus diversity vice president, said, “I’m very excited and I can do so much with the position. I’m just ready to get going.”
She said she did not know what she would do first as the first campus diversity vice president at USU.
Mike Waggoner, organizations and traditions vice president elect, said, “I’m happy and sad today.”
Although Waggoner was elected, he had to break the news to a friend who wasn’t.
“I’m still shaking and still nervous,” said Shelly Swasey, athletics vice president elect. “I feel like I’m in a dream.”
She said the first thing she would do is to make boards advertising the different athletic events around campus.
“Publicity is the key for athletes,” she said.
Palmer said he was “thrilled and excited. There is a lot of energy going into next year’s council.”