John Hult

By the time the votes were tallied in the 2003 Student’s Association elections, many students had already left the frozen campus for the warm ocean waters of Ft. Lauderdale or Cancun.

But the newly elected president and vice president of the SA had some business to attend to before they traveled to Las Vegas and New Orleans, respectively.

In their first official act as president and vice president-elect, Eric Erickson and Justin Larson presented a Jackrabbit of the Day award to Richard Reid, the assistant dean of engineering. Major Reid, who acts as Larson’s superior in the Air National Guard, was called into service earlier in the week.

Erickson and Larson won by 515 votes over opponents Ryan Feist and Stephanie Arne. A total of 1,999 students voted in the presidential election, which is approximately 20 percent of the student body.

Feist said that his friendship with Erickson was never compromised by the elections.

“I wish Eric and Justin the best of luck,” Feist said. “I hope things just go well.”

Erickson said that the next order of official business will be to gather applications for at-large senators. As it stands, there are six total seats open between the College of General Registration and the graduate school. Students interested in the SA posts need to get 50 signatures on a petition, after which candidates are interviewed for the job by SA members.

Feist said he and Arne plan to run for two of the five at-large senate seats.

Erickson and Larson will officially take the reins at the SA Banquet, which is on March 17. The ceremony includes recitation of the oaths of office and a passing of the gavel from current President Dan Hansen to Erickson. Hansen said that the oaths of office are a new addition to the banquet. SDSU Legal Aid Pat Lyons will administer the oaths.

Erickson said that waiting for results on the second day of the elections was one of the toughest things about the race.

“We were very nervous all afternoon–right up until the end,” he said.

Erickson said that he first found out when friends started calling to congratulate him. He called Feist later in the evening.

“I met with Ryan that night,” Erickson said. “Last year I ran and didn’t win, so I knew how he felt.”

After the senators for both the College of General Registration and the graduate schools are hired, Erickson and Larson will move on to reviewing applications for the SA finance chair–a post currently held by Feist–and for the administrative assistant, who serves as the chief of staff for the SA. Erickson served as administrative assistant under Hansen.

Feist indicated that he has not yet decided on whether he will re-apply for his current post again.

“I haven’t ruled it out, but I haven’t decided yet,” he said.