By Olivia Krauth–

Junior Meredith Cooksey won the run-off election for SGA’s position of Academic Vice President, beating sophomore Vishnu Tirumala 490-343.

Cooksey won the initial election, but an election rule in the SGA Constitution says a candidate needs to receive 40 percent of the total vote to win. She won 39.66 percent, causing the run-off.

“After a long month of campaigning I am ecstatic that I have been unofficially chosen as the 2016-2017 Academic Vice President,” Cooksey said. “I am excited to work alongside my peers, the rest of SGA, faculty, staff and administration next year as a student voice. As with so many past AVPs and members of  SGA, the students are able to make real changes to benefit the student body. I am honored to be a leader and innovator for these changes.

“There is still so much work to be done in the realm of academics. From increased student recognition in a variety of facets to listening to students and how their university can better foster their academic success, I know that students will continue to succeed at even higher rates. I plan to target underrepresented groups on campus in hopes of broadening the depth of the SGA changes.”

https://twitter.com/da_vish/status/705792491572756481

“Firstly, I want to thank all of my friends and supporters who have helped me in so many ways over this past month,” Tirumala said. “This whole process has been an incredible learning experience for me and I’m so glad I could talk to so many of my fellow cards about making our school better. It certainly left me optimistic about our future.
“I reached out to Meredith earlier today and congratulated her on her win. I am sure she will be a capable Academic VP in SGA. As for me, I will work to make SGA more accessible to students from my position in the Senate. Although I will not be in elected office next year, I’m looking forward to helping continue UofL’s upward trajectory. As they say, there’s never been a better time be a Louisville Cardinal.”

SGA Director of Communications Jacob Abrahamson said the results become official on Monday.