On Thursday, March 17, the final results of the Student Alliance elections for officer positions were announced.

Jacob Shaw was elected president, sitting vice president Annabel Walsh was re-elected, as well as sitting treasurer Erica Diaz. Iliana Nazari was elected secretary.
The results of the 2016-2017 election were announced a few days after the school voting.

Officers must have been a part of Student Alliance for at least one year in order to run, and depending on how many people choose to run, a primary must be held before the general election.

This year, the general election was unique in that there were three candidates running for the position of president.

Sitting vice president Annabel Walsh said, “Originally we voted unjustly for who was going to go to general elections, because we voted using a ranking system.”
In the initial election, SA members voted upon two candidates, however it was discovered that the club had “two constitutions,” according to Walsh, and that the language in each differed on voting procedure.

Student Alliance had to discuss with teacher sponsors and the board to decide which constitution was to be upheld, and eventually a revote was held.
After the revote, there were three leading candidates for the general election. One candidate received the majority of the votes and two others tied for second. All three were then admitted to the general election.

The process of electing nominees wasn’t the only confusion during this process.

Walsh said about campaigning, “You’re allowed to make posters but your budget cannot go over a certain amount, and you can also only have a certain number of posters. And in the past, our rule was that you couldn’t make buttons.”

Rules from freshman year were confused with rules at the Winnetka campus, and specific campaigning regulations must have been lost in translation. “I think it was a rule at the freshman campus, but it wasn’t a rule this year that you couldn’t make buttons,” Walsh said. When asked about the miscommunication with the regulations this year, board member Ally Bailey declined to comment.

General board members are elected to Student Alliance by getting fifty signatures on a petition to run. After their name is on the ballot, they must be voted into position by students at New Trier. Bailey explained, “Sophomores vote for sophomores, juniors vote for juniors, and seniors vote for seniors.”

However, there are ways to get around not being voted onto the ballot. “If you don’t win the election, there’s an opportunity to interview with some of the officers,” Bailey said, “It’s a really fun, chill meeting. I did it and it was totally fine; I’m on board three years later.”

Board members are responsible for helping run Student Alliance and being an agent for change within the school. SA bridges the gap between students and administration. Members are also responsible for electing nominees for the officer positions such as president, vice-president, treasurer, etc.

Despite the miscommunications and competition, Student Alliance members had generally positive experiences with the elections. “It’s a stressful time for Student Alliance, but in the end, everything turns out,” Ally Bailey said.