The Student Government Association elected its new president in a marathon Joint Senate meeting last Thursday night, choosing Vice President for Academic Affairs Bill Durkin for the position.

Durkin took over the position from Interim President Erin McFadzen immediately following the vote. McFadzen will resume her former role as vice president for student affairs.

Durkin beat Vice President for Student Services Nicole Martino 36 votes to 28, with one write in for Sen. Justin Hansen and one ballot left blank. Sen. Daniel Quintal, the third candidate for the position, dropped out of the race Thursday afternoon, citing academic reasons for his inability to run for the position.

The candidates each had an opportunity to try and sway voters to their side in a four-minute address to the senate. Both said the organization is at a turning point and needs a dedicated leader to complete the executive board.

“This organization stands at a crossroads,” Martino said. “Picking a president is not an easy task.”

Martino said the president must embody the vision of the organization and possess “vision, experience, dedication, determination and integrity.”

Durkin said while the organization has faced an “unprecedented set of challenges,” it is time to move on.

“I want to continue to execute the agenda of the organization and ensure the transition is as seamless as possible,” Durkin said. “I am objective, focused on the task at hand and I am a doer, not a talker.”

Each candidate had the chance to respond to six pre-written questions, one of which asked the two vice presidents what their biggest initiative would be if they were elected to office.

Martino said direct elections, which would allow the student body to vote for the SGA president, are the most important issue facing student government, and said she would see to it that the issue is researched and planned for this year.

Durkin, however, said direct elections are not a reasonable goal for SGA this year and said the biggest problem that needs to be addressed is student outreach, and making sure “students know who we are and what we do.”

Martino disagreed strongly, and said direct elections would be the best way to reach students.

“Direct elections would force students to wake up and see student government,” she said. “It is possible and I will see that it is done.”

After opening statements and questions from the senate, both candidates left the room while speakers for and against each candidate voiced their opinions on why each candidate should or should not be elected as president.

Quintal spoke against Martino, and said he felt she did not possess the leadership qualities necessary in an effective president.

“She’s good in her current office,” Quintal said. “I don’t feel she has the leadership style. She’s in the position where she belongs right now.”

Former Vice President for Financial Affairs Michael Benson, who sat on the executive board with Martino last year, spoke for Martino, and said her experience made her the best choice for the position.

“I’ve watched her rise from a freshman as an assistant vice president,” Benson said.

He said she possessed the leadership skills Quintal claimed she did not have.

All three who spoke against Durkin said they did not feel he was ready for the position. Durkin, a middler, has been in SGA for a year, and has been a member of the executive board for three months.

“VP Durkin is going to go very far,” said Sen. Heidi Buchanan. “I don’t feel it’s his time yet. I don’t feel he has proven to us that he’s worthy of being our president yet.”

Former SGA President Michael Romano also stood up to speak against Durkin, and said he felt Martino would be better suited to ensure direct elections could become a reality.

“A mistake I made was that I always underestimated [Martino],” he said. “Direct elections are not an option but a necessity.”

Vice President for Adminis-tration John Guilfoil, the only current e-board member to speak for a candidate, spoke for Durkin and said his accomplishments speak for themselves.

“He gets things done better than anyone I’ve seen before, including myself,” Guilfoil said. “He will keep us going for the rest of the year. I’ve seen first- hand what he is capable of, he is amazing at his job and I trust him.”

Now that Durkin has entered the position, he said he feels things are going well and progress has already been made.

“I have a supportive e-board and I work well with Vice President [for Student Affairs] Erin McFadzen, I think the transition should be pretty smooth,” he said five days after being elected.

SGA will be holding its weeklong Campus Invasion next week, Durkin said, which will include student surveys and making SGA members readily available to students through “large- scale outreach.”

Martino said she plans to continue the agenda already set by student services this year.

“I’ll never get bored [with student services],” she said. “There’s plenty of things to get done for the end of the year.”

With Durkin as president and Martino still on the e-board as a vice president, the two will now have to work closely for the remainder of the year. Both Durkin and Martino, however, said they will continue to work well together as they have in the past.

“I think [Durkin] and I went into this knowing we’d have to work with each other no matter what happened,” Martino said. “I think it will be fine.”

As president, Durkin said he has the potential to make progress and accomplish great things.

“Talk is cheap,” he said. “I put my money where my mouth is and I get things done. I’m the right person at the right time for this organization.”