Junior Victoria Ettorre was elected CAS Student Council President in the 2013 student council elections, after votes were recast due to a change in candidates.
The revote lasted two days, and the candidates were not allowed to campaign outside of Facebook.
Ettorre beat out sophomore economics student Sara Samarasinghe in the race. Incumbent Yee Ting Wu dropped out mid-race after receiving word from an internship, when some students had already cast their votes. In an effort to make the race fair, the previous votes were nullified and a revote began on April 22.
The CAS Student Council announced the results of the revote on Monday via email.
Ettorre, a biology student on the pre-med track, already has big plans for next year. She said her first goal is to return to the basics of what student council really is.
“We are looking for more than just programming and focusing a lot more on the political side of things,” Ettorre said.
Ettorre said students are becoming more interested in issues like the no-confidence vote and NYU’s expansion plan, and she hopes to make the student council an unbiased source of information for students.
However, she said she could not say whether the student body could have a larger say in these controversial issues.
“At this time, it’s hard to say only because the student body has not really been engaged in discussions concerning it yet,” she said.
Ettorre said the student council’s role is to educate students with unbiased information, not to take a position.
“As the students have no say at the current time, we will not be holding a position on this issue,” she said.
Ettorre has been active in student council since her freshman year and served on the executive board for the past two years. She decided to run for president because she believed the experience and knowledge she gained from her previous student council involvement would make her a good leader.
“I am very passionate about making some changes to the student council to enhance student life for CAS students,” Ettorre said.
A version of this article appeared in the Wednesday May 1 print edition. Kevin Burns is a deputy university editor. Email him at [email protected].
