Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include quotes from Audrey Schlotter and Zach Kowash.
Oregon State University’s student body has elected Audrey Schlotter as president of the Associated Students of Oregon State University, with Zach Kowash as vice president, winning with 51.73% of total votes.
Schlotter and Kowash won with 1,541 votes to 1,438 for the Nathan Schmidt and Narmeen Rashid ticket in the last round of ranked choice voting.
Ranked choice votes occur in rounds with the lowest count being removed from the ballot each round.
Voting ran from noon on Feb. 19 to noon on March 1, with candidates campaigning in the Memorial Union Quad and around campus.
Schlotter and Kowash ran on a platform based on “Building Back a Better Beaver Nation,” with a focus on student community engagement, student health and wellness, monetary integrity and community outreach.
They emphasized their focus on distribution of Narcan and Fentanyl test strips to all OSU students, as well as at-home sexually transmitted infection testing.
In addition to the presidential tickets, the position of Student Fee Committee Chair was also up for election, won by Sophia Nowers with 54.58% of the vote in the final round.
Nowers ran on a platform dedicated to improving transparency in the SFC process, lowering student fees, establishing a uniform student minimum wage above current Oregon minimum wages, and prioritizing environmental sustainability on campus and in student fee-funded units.
There were five open seats for SFC At-Large Members, filled by Lillian Judith Goodyear, Madison Wusstig, Dylan Perfect, Cole Peters and Saegis Abbott, in order of most to least votes.
There were 15 seats for undergraduate student ASOSU Senators filled by Adison Rowe, Alexa Gomez Silva, Elizabeth Eckman, Christina Lewandowski, Camryn Lau, Emerson Pearson, Katyayani Karlapati, Donovan Morales-Coonrad, Destiny Jones, Mercedez Allen, Shawn Aundrae Durr, Kieran Hostetler-McLaughlin, Leah Ann Wright, Jacob Field and Teaghan Knox, in order of most to least votes.
There were three seats for graduate student ASOSU Senators with one filled by the only candidate, Nathan Raschkes. The remaining two seats will be filled through an appointment process led by current ASOSU members.
“I can’t believe this is real. There were five incredible tickets who ran in this race and I think every one of them would have served Beaver Nation so well,” Schlotter said. “I am beyond honored Zach and I have been trusted with bettering this community.”
All elected positions will serve a one-year term, with inauguration taking place on June 1st, 2024.
“I’m really excited to start working with students and making an impact to build back a better Beaver Nation,” Kowash said.
