Juniors Jeremy Lipstein and Drew Morrison will fill the positions of Student Government Association (SGA) President and Vice President, respectively, next year after narrowly defeating their competition in last week’s elections.

According to unofficial results provided by student senators, Lipstein and Morrison captured 485 votes, or 36 percent of the total cast.

As of Tuesday’s SGA meeting, the two faced a one percent deduction for campaign rule violations, but their margin remained large enough to stay ahead of the second place finishers, juniors Wills Hapworth and Katie Aretz.

Lipstein and Morrison come to their new positions with significant experience in SGA and a history of leadership in other areas. Lipstein, who is currently studying abroad, has served on SGA for two years and has been a member of both the Student Issues and the Legislative Affairs Committees. He has also been president of the Colgate Club Baseball Team, Recruitment Chair for the Inter-Fraternity Council and Scholarship Chair for Theta Chi Fraternity. He is also a member of the Student Athletic Task Force and tutors students in economics.

Morrison has been a member of SGA for two semesters, working with the Communications and Legislative Affairs Committees. He is also a member of the 2007 Class Council, and is involved with both Sidekicks and the College Democrats.

The pair campaigned on a platform blending practical goals with some more ambitious plans. One unique promise was to procure two-ply toilet paper for campus bathrooms. Their other goals for the coming year include ending 9:00 a.m. final exams, changing the course registration process, adding more flexibility to meal plans and securing better financing for student organizations.

“We envision an SGA that directly aligns itself with the needs of the student body and the issues that affect the Colgate community on a day-to-day basis,” the two said in a joint interview. “Through involving more of the student body in this organization, we wish to make SGA more about the concerns of students and less about bureaucracy.”

Avoiding bureaucracy may prove difficult for Lipstein and Morrison, however, as SGA continues revising the constitution.

Should SGA vote to ratify the constitution by the end of its session this year, Lipstein and Morrison will be charged with executing the provisions of the document. Some of its priorities are improving the accountability of senators and reforming the Executive Board. If the constitution is not ratified in SGA, Lipstein and Morrison may have to set aside their other plans to put it into effect early next year.

Lipstein and Morrison are alsoconcerned with the New Vision for Residential Education adopted by the University several years ago.

“We…want to make sure that the student body is not being marginalized with the gradual filling of the new townhouses, demolition of ‘Gate House, and the general movement toward a more Broad Street-oriented Colgate Community,” they said. “As Colgate begins to move more students ‘down the hill,’ we want to make sure that relations between the Colgate student body and the Village of Hamilton remain on positive terms.”

Lipstein and Morrison are committed to representing the Colgate student body fairly and to ensuring communication between various members of the school.

“[We] will keep an open ear to the Colgate community, knowing that [our] combined experiences in various Greek, athletic, community service, and leadership roles on campus equip [us] to handle issues best,” they said.