Wyatt Smith and running mate Lori Murphy were announced the winners of the Vanderbilt Student Government presidential election Thursday afternoon.
Roars of handclaps and cheering filled the packed Sarratt Promenade following Attorney General Jared Anderson's announcement of the results of what current VSG president Joseph Williams called a "historic election" in an e-mail to the student body earlier that day.
The voter turnout for the election certainly made it historic - 70 percent of the student body voted in the third VSG presidential election, compared to only 36 percent last year. A majority of each class voted, most notably the 86 percent of seniors who participated in the election.
"I am incredibly overjoyed with this win. I have the most wonderful team working on the campaign and so much support that made this entire process worth it," said Smith after the announcement.
Smith and Murphy received 62.6 percent of the 4,496 votes, while opponents Fabiani Duarte and Deno Saclarides received 35.6 percent.
Smith said he tried to keep his team and himself balanced during the campaign process, making sure their emotions were never too high or too low, and to not lose perspective throughout the race.
"I also think Fabiani (Duarte) did a great job and has great ideas, which I will draw heavily from," Smith said. "He is one of the most committed people I know and I greatly respect him for that."
The process has also been meaningful for Duarte.
"(I'm) blessed to be part of the process. It's been an incredible fight and we've shown why VSG matters. Innovation, ideas and experience can galvanize students," said Duarte.
Saclarides echoed Duarte's sentiment.
"It's been a privilege running regardless (of the outcome). ... I'm flattered," said Saclarides.
With the election now over, the new VSG administration must turn their sights to the future.
"We will start working right away," Smith said. "We're going to continue pushing for improvements such as replacing OASIS and getting course evaluations online. We have a lot of momentum so we're going to deliver."
In addition, Vanderbilt faced with the billion-dollar loss in endowment will have an effect on VSG's future.
"We're facing challenging times and have to be very thoughtful in deciding what our priorities are. Vanderbilt students are relatively insulated from understanding the implications of the loss, but we understand there have to be sacrifices," Smith said. "However, we will continue pushing for progress on core things."
Samantha Smith contributed reporting to this article.
