Medlin wins SBP

Hogan Medlin won the student body president runoff election Tuesday night, maintaining his status as the election’s front-runner when he swept to a substantial victory over Shruti Shah.

Medlin received 61 percent of the vote, while Shah received 39 percent. All results are preliminary until the Board of Elections certification, which must occur by Saturday.

Medlin’s election marks the end of a race characterized by a lack of surprises — he has been planning his bid since his freshman year, was the front-runner heading into the race and gathered 44 percent of the general election vote in comparison to Shah’s 16 percent.

The president-elect said he was not expecting such a large margin of victory and was stunned by the show of support from students.

“The percentage and number of votes is inspiring and truly supportive,” Medlin said.

Medlin said he hopes to use the support to make his administration an organization more representative of the student body.

“That’s what I want to channel,” he said. “We’ve got the support. Now let’s act on it.”

At least 5,499 votes were cast in this election, a drop from the 9,513 votes cast in last year’s runoff, which also included a contentious fee referendum.

Medlin’s election means he will serve as the student body’s chief voice to the administration and have a chance to influence issues such as tuition, Greek affairs, budget cuts and the academic future of the University.

His vision for student government was where he differed most from his opponent. Throughout the election, Medlin has emphasized his belief that a larger student government will allow more voices to be heard, in contrast to Shah’s call to downsize the organization to promote efficiency.

In the last week of campaigning, Shah received the support of three of the four previously eliminated candidates — Nash Keune, Joe Levin-Manning and Greg Strompolos — hoping to achieve a repeat of last year’s election.

In 2009, Jasmin Jones overcame a deficit of 20 percentage points in the general election to defeat Thomas Edwards in the runoff, after receiving the strong support from the four eliminated candidates.

But this year, eliminated candidate Monique Hardin, who finished third with 14 percent of the vote, did not endorse anyone. Medlin was able to hold on to enough of his support to beat Shah by 1,213 votes.

Medlin, who will take office in April, said he will immediately begin to prepare for his responsibilities by speaking with Jones.

“I’m sitting down with Jasmin, and I’m going to pick her brain about everything,” he said.

Shah said she was disappointed at the loss but was thankful for the election experience.

“It was an exciting process,” she said. “It was great to be a part of it.”

Shah said she also thinks Medlin will make a great president and she hopes to be involved in his administration next year.

Medlin’s 68-page platform includes a variety of goals, such as making student government more accessible to students, exposing students to campus events through the Carolina Monthly Look publication and creating a more personalized academic experience for students.

Medlin said he is thankful for how far he has come.

“I come from small rural North Carolina. I’m now in a position where I can do something big for this University.”



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.