By Kelly Lucas
Campus Editor

A four percent infraction penalty couldn't keep Jim Vaca and Patrick Mondi from becoming the new student body president and vice president Friday.

Vaca, a junior in the School of Management, and Mondi, a junior in the School of Technology, took 53 percent of the popular vote; however, a four percent infraction caused them to receive 49 percent.

"I've been dreaming about this for about three years now," said Vaca. "It feels good to be in a position where I can help out the student body and give back to Purdue everything that was given to me."

Mondi said, "I didn't know what the feeling would be like; I never thought I would do this. This is a win for regular guys who go through each day working and keeping their nose to the grindstone."

Clay Slaughter, a freshman in the School of Science, and Kurt Weiand, a junior in the School of Liberal Arts, took 16 percent of the popular vote, while Chris McManama, a junior in the School of Management, and John Gerber, a junior in the School of Management, took 31 percent of the popular vote.

"We take our hats off to our opponents," said Vaca. "Their presence in this election process brought many issues to the forefront that might not have been."

A total of 4,317 students voted this year, an increase of nearly 1,500 voters since last year, and represents approximately 12.1 percent of the student population. The highest percentage of voters was from the residence halls, with 21.1 percent.

"The record turnout was impressive, and is a testament to the hard work and dedication Busch (Voigts III, outgoing president) and Bryan (Lares, outgoing vice president) put forth during their administration," said Mondi. "They should be proud of what they accomplished."

Slaughter said he was glad to see the record turnout. "Anytime we get more student input, we can serve the students better. I congratulate Patrick and Jim and look forward to serving PSG another year as a senator."

Erin Clem, election secretary, said she wishes the best for the future of Purdue Student Government.

"I hope that each of the tickets stay involved in PSG because they each had such diverse backgrounds and I hope they can work together to accomplish their goals," said Clem.

Vaca said it's time for everyone to come together and start implementing their pro-student agenda.

"I am looking forward to working hard with the students on campus to make this a reality," said Vaca. "We have the best interests of the student body at heart and have the ability to help make the students' vision a reality."

Students were also allowed to vote on three referendum questions when they voted for student body elections. The results of those questions are as follows:

• 2,987 students were for eliminating sales tax on textbooks and 267 students were against.

• 2,487 students were for the continuation of the CityBus SafeRide program and 731 students were against.

• 1,530 students were for PSG supporting the Students Against Sweatshops and 1,594 were against.

The three referendum questions provide PSG with the opportunity to receive feedback from the student body on key issues.

Vaca said his only complaint about elections is with the system, not the people enforcing the rules.

"The individuals, such as the special prosecutor and the courts, handled themselves with class and dignity. However, the election process needs to be reviewed and revamped for next year, that's for sure," said Vaca. "It's too easily manipulated to gain unfair advantages.

"Any complaints we have with the special prosecutor or our opponents stems from the whole system being broken, not them individually. I'm just glad to have this whole thing behind us."