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Cheers from supporters and a loss of words from some West Virginia University Student Government Association winners ushered in a PIRATE Party victory Thursday in the Mountainlair.
SGA President-elect Chris Lewallen and Vice President-elect Ron Cheng, along with 12 other PIRATE Party governor-elects, received hugs and pats on the back as their names were announced.
Lewallen and Cheng took office with 3,100 votes, 265 more than the Mountaineer Choice presidential and vice presidential candidates Ian McCulloch and Molly Casto.
The majority of the Board of Governors are PIRATE Party members, and Cheng said he is glad the party’s hard work paid off.
"I’m probably more excited about some of my governors winning than I am myself," Cheng said. "These guys swept it. It’s hard because Chris and I got a lot of attention, but they rocked it, and I’m very proud of them."
The party’s message of reform and student inclusiveness will begin immediately, Cheng said. He plans to develop a master plan for his term after the inauguration.
"We had a message of change that students bought into, and we are going to follow through with it," he said. "It’s time to open up the doors and let the fresh air in."
Lewallen agreed with Cheng, saying students embraced the party’s message of reforming student government.
"The students embraced our message, and past administrations embraced our message," Lewallen said. "SGA is very limited in what we can do, but I think students recognized we can bring change to this University."
Students wanted change, and now it’s up to the new administration to show it to them, he said.
Before the winners were announced, Gov. Ryan Quinn said he thought the "Cheng gang" would win. After the announcement, Quinn said he saw more students supporting the PIRATE Party.
The PIRATE Party put the first international student, Ahmad Alashi, on its ticket. After he won with more than 2,000 votes, Alashi was lifted on his friends’ shoulders and cheers broke out.
Later, the group broke out into dance.
Alashi’s friend and supporter Abdul Aziz, an international electrical engineering student, said his victory was shared with international students.
"We welcome that – that’s a big change, and I’m super happy," Aziz said.
PIRATE Party supporter Susan Cornett, a Chi Omega sorority member, said she is happy her sorority has control over one fifth of the BOG – governor-elects Megan Callaghan, Ali Mols and Allison Rollins.
Ryan Campione, a freshman governor-elect who won with more than 2,300 votes, said he decided to run after guidance from Gov. Kyle Hess. Hess himself won re-election with more than 2,500 votes.
"As a freshman coming to the first meeting, Kyle told me to stick to the issues and follow them through," Campione said. "That’s exactly what I did, I guess I kind of got sucked into it."
Lets Gooo Mounatineer *choice*