Tanya Marsh

The votes are in, and Dan Hansen has been elected Student Association president, with running mate Ben Solomon as vice president.

Hansen, a junior pharmacy major, was excited about winning the election.

“Obviously, [we were] very pleased, very happy. We were excited because it was a lot of hard work. It felt good to know all the hard work … paid off,” he said. “[It’s] just a huge sense of relief.”

Election won, Hansen said he’s eager to begin working toward his goals.

“For short-term, we have 12 open seats in the senate. We want to fill the senate,” he said.

Once the senate is filled, there are other appointments to make — “choosing the executive board, financial chair and administrative assistant,” Hansen said.

After these short-term goals have been completed, Hansen said he will be ready to begin work in other areas, including the issue of the Third B tax, a tax on prepared foods that would affect SDSU students on meal plans.

“[We’re going to] rally to get students to register to vote …” he said. Another goal that will receive attention is “trying to get computers in Jacks’ Place.”

These computers were part of the pair’s platform, which also included being a voice for handicap access on campus and being, in general, a voice for the students.

The road ahead will have its bumps. One of the challenges Hansen foresees comes as a result of a personal trait. “I’m a person that tries to please everybody,” he said. “I want to feel confident for the decision that was made [on each issue]. My biggest challenge will be to know that no matter what I do, I can’t please everybody.”

Hansen said there is much to look forward to in his job. “I’m anticipating working with everybody from the different colleges, going through the budgets … just taking part in things such as Hobo Days as a group,” he said.

However, he was hard-pressed to think of aspects of the job he is not looking forward to. “I’m a glutton for punishment,” he said, adding that he’s not afraid of hard work and late nights. “As long as the things we want to get accomplished get accomplished, in the end [the work] will hopefully pay off.”

Making students realize how the senate affects their lives is another goal of Hansen’s. “We want to leave off with, the senate did accomplish their goals,” he said. “As long as we can do that we know we did something right.”

Another thing the two plan to do right?

“We’re going to try to keep it real, add a little life to the SA office,” Hansen said.