In a USG election dogged by controversy and featuring an unusually high voter turnout of 57 percent, the seven-candidate presidential field was whittled down to Jeremy Johnson '07 and Alex Lenahan '07. Rob Biederman '08 was elected vice president.
The referendum on the Princeton Justice Project (PJP) brief supporting same-sex marriage passed by just 82 votes, while about 70 percent of voters supported the right of couples to marry regardless of gender.
The PJP brief will be signed by USG President Leslie-Bernard Joseph '06, formally lending the USG's support to the plaintiffs in the case of Lewis v. Harris. The plaintiffs are seeking legal approval of same-sex marriages in New Jersey.
Lenahan, who garnered 1,063 votes, and Johnson, who garnered 414, are slated for a runoff election starting at 12:45 p.m. tomorrow and ending 24 hours later.
In the presidential election, which was plagued by controversy, tensions are still high.
Johnson criticized the election committee's decision to give him 49 penalty points, just short of the 50 that would have disqualified him from the race.
Noting that the candidate who brought one of the allegations against him later withdrew the claim, Johnson said that whatever the outcome of the runoff, he will work to amend the election rules.
"Candidates shouldn't be able to theoretically end your campaign by moving your campaign material. It shouldn't be a race to the bottom," Johnson said. "I've had to overcome all manner of hurdles that should never have been thrown at my campaign."
Outgoing USG Vice President Jesse Creed '07, who served as election manager, sees things differently. "This year there's been this irreverence toward election managers," he said. "We made the best decisions elections managers can make given the situation ... I don't think the elections managers or the rules are at fault."
Lenahan, Johnson's runoff opponent, managed to avoid any major allegations of campaign violations. Despite a sizable lead going into the runoff, he said he would continue to campaign to the end.
"I know that Jeremy is a very good campaigner, and I will continue to campaign," he said. "I won't be sitting back at all."
He added, "I was honored to see that people thought I'd do a good job. If elected, I'm looking forward to making sure that Princeton as it goes into the future is the best place it can be."
Biederman also said he was "honored" to have been elected but disappointed by the tone of the election.
"The first thing I'm going to do [as vice president] is rewrite the election rules to avoid the unhappiness we experienced this year," he said. He added he was "extremely disappointed" that an unusually low number of candidates ran for all positions except president.
Last week, two presidential candidates — Johnson and Freddy Flaxman '07 — were cited for campaign violations, which both students appealed. Flaxman withdrew from the race Friday, writing in an email to supporters that the elections process "is rife with unfairness."
PJP brief
The USG will sign on to the PJP brief regarding gay marriage after a referendum won the support of 51.6 percent of students. The freshman and sophomore classes passed the referendum by margins of roughly five percent, while a slight majority of the junior and senior classes voted against it.
"I'm so happy that my peers decided to do something on behalf of gay students at Princeton and throughout New Jersey," said Gay Family Rights project head Chris Lloyd '06, who along with PJP president Tom Bohnett '07, also a Daily Princetonian columnist, brought the brief before the USG.
"When you have some of the best and brightest students in the world use their combined voice on behalf of something, it matters," he said. "The fact that Princeton students decided to speak out on this issue reflects our motto, 'Princeton in the nation's service and in the service of all nations.' "
Lloyd attributed the win to heavy lobbying on behalf of the brief, which included nearly 1,000 posters and letters published in a number of campus publication.
He said he expects the brief to be submitted to court by the end of the week.
Correction
The original version of this story neglected to mention that Lenahan was accused of one minor rule violation but was never penalized.
Read More
Mahya Fazel-Zarandi ’25 awarded Gates Cambridge Scholarship
Devon RudolphMahya Fazel-Zarandi ’25 was awarded an international Gates Cambridge scholarship. She will pursue a Masters in Philosophy in Medical Science at Cambridge focusing on a project using AI to detect ovarian cancer early.
Mahya Fazel-Zarandi ’25 was awarded an international Gates Cambridge scholarship. She will pursue a Masters in Philosophy in Medical Science at Cambridge focusing on a project using AI to detect ovarian cancer early.
Reunions, Commencement see isolated demonstrations as U. tightens protest warnings
Calvin Kenjiro Grover and Luke GrippoAt this year’s Reunions and Commencement, the University sought to get ahead of any potential demonstrations by exhaustively emphasizing its policies around protests and interruptions, including that those who disrupted an event could face arrest. However, there were only a few Pro-Palestine protest actions, all of them sparsely attended.
At this year’s Reunions and Commencement, the University sought to get ahead of any potential demonstrations by exhaustively emphasizing its policies around protests and interruptions, including that those who disrupted an event could face arrest. However, there were only a few Pro-Palestine protest actions, all of them sparsely attended.
Princeton awards 1,293 degrees to the Class of 2025 as speakers reference political headwinds
Maya MukherjeeReunions and graduation speakers referenced the tense political climate around higher education, adding urgent undertones — and sometimes overtones — to otherwise standard ceremonial speech fare.
Reunions and graduation speakers referenced the tense political climate around higher education, adding urgent undertones — and sometimes overtones — to otherwise standard ceremonial speech fare.