Spring 2021 Wilf Student Government Election Results Released After Delay
Results for the Spring 2021 Wilf Campus Student Government elections have been released after a delay caused by a Wilf Student Court case determining the eligibility of Post-Pesach Program (PPP) students. PPP students were granted the right to vote by the court and were provided with a voting period, from Friday, April 30 at 2:31 p.m. until Sunday, May 2, at 1 a.m. All other voters cast their ballots on April 29.
The results were released by Dovie Solomon (SSSB ‘21) to the student body on May 2 at 1:43 a.m. after first releasing them to candidates at 1 a.m. Solomon released a breakdown of the vote tallies on May 3 at 1:06 p.m.
Commenting on the makeup of next year’s student government, Elazar Abrahams (YC ‘22), the incoming YSU president stated, “It’s so amazing that all of the Wilf presidents have different majors and come from different high schools and Israel yeshivot. We will really be representing the diversity of YU and I look forward to working with Jonah, Yoni, and Akiva to improve student life for everyone.” As student government presidents are prohibited from serving on The Commentator, according to the Wilf Student Constitution, Abrahams, currently the senior features editor of The Commentator, will vacate his position on the paper before assuming the YSU presidency.
“Thank you to everyone who voted, whether for me or for one of my opponents,” expressed Akiva Poppers (SSSB ‘22), the outgoing SOY president and incoming SYMSSC president. “My work to make your 2021-22 Syms experience great starts tomorrow.”
The following are the results of the elections:
SOY President: Yoni Laub
SOY Vice President: Aryeh Bienstock
SOY MYP Representative: Ephraim Klein
SOY BMP Representative: Joey Yellin
SOY IBC Representative: Max Friedman
SOY JSS Representative: Marc Ziarno
SOY PR Secretary: Ezra Emerson
SYMSSC President: Akiva Poppers
SYMSSC Vice President: Eden Taranto
SYMSSC Treasurer: Gilad Menashe
YCSC President: Jonah Chill
YCSC Vice President: David Lifschitz
YCSC Treasurer: AJ Book
YSU President: Elazar Abrahams
YSU Vice President of Clubs: Baruch Lerman
YSU Vice President of Class Affairs: Michael Stark
YSU Senior Class Representative: Joey Wajsberg
YSU Junior Class Representative: Yisroel Tannenbaum
Makor Representative: Menachem Aharon Wallach
The YSU Katz Representative position was not filled in the election.
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Eight proposed amendments to the Wilf Student Constitution appeared on the ballot, six of which garnered the three-fifths majority necessary for ratification. The following amendments were passed:
Amendment #1 (Clarifying Status of Makor Students and Grammar Edit)
This amendment clarifies the term “undergraduate student” to include full- or part-time in the Sy Syms School of Business, Yeshiva College, the Makor Undergraduate Experience or the Post-Pesach Program. S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program students are not included in the “undergraduate” student body.
Amendment #2 (Changing Requirement to be Treasurer)
This amendment stipulates that the treasurers in SYMSSC and YCSC must be full-time students in their respective schools “for at least two semesters prior to taking office.” The amendment also gets rid of the requirement that the SYMSSC treasurer must be a junior or senior.
Amendment #3 (Addressing Fall-2 Vacancy)
This amendment provides that various positions in a student council, if vacant after fall elections, would be filled by a candidate supported by a majority vote in the council with the vacancy and a majority of the General Assembly (GA).
Amendment #5 (Making Student Court Suits Public and Establishing a Temporary Chief Justice)
This amendment requires that all suits filed with the Student Court must be made public. This will prevent frivolous lawsuits and allow students to present an informed defense. It also establishes a process for establishing a temporary Chief Justice in the event the Chief Justice is unable to preside over a case.
Amendment #6 (Leave of Absence Permission)
The amendment changes the procedure for any member of the GA to take a leave of absence. A member of the GA may take a leave of absence only if it is approved by a majority vote of the GA. This amendment also gives the GA, with a 3/5 majority vote, the ability to file a request to the Office of Student Life to dissolve any club.
Amendment #8 (Minimum Student Body Vote Needed to Pass Future Amendments)
This amendment establishes a minimum threshold of two-fifths of the student body to vote in order for an amendment to pass.
The GA — which approves amendments forwarded to it by the Amendments Committee (AC) — passed three amendments that were not approved by the AC to the student body for ratification, according to David Tanner (YC ‘22), chair of the AC. Two of those amendments (#6 and #8) were ratified by the student body.
Tanner brought a suit against the GA in the Wilf Student Court, but the court declined to hear the case. He urged students to “think twice before legitimizing GA amendments that were voted on without the prior approval of the AC, in blatant disregard for the Wilf Constitution.”
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Candidates
The following is a breakdown of the election results with vote totals and percentage of votes per candidate:
SOY President
Yoni Laub - 479 (89%)
SOY Vice President
Aryeh Bienstock - 376 (70%)
Michael Smolowitz - 132 (24%)
SOY MYP Representative
Ephraim Klein - 286 (93%)
SOY BMP Representative
Joey Yellin - 70 (48%)
Aharon Traurig - 68 (47%)
SOY IBC Representative
Max Friedman - 29 (51%)
Jonathan Saks - 24 (42%)
SOY JSS Representative
Marc Ziarno - 27 (93%)
SOY PR Secretary
Ezra Emerson - 477 (90%)
SYMSSC President
Akiva Poppers - 149 (46%)
Jake Sheckter - 128 (40%)
Dovi Schlossberg - 43 (13%)
SYMSSC Vice President
Eden Taranto - 140 (47%)
Uri/Max Ash - 134 (45%)
SYMSSC Treasurer
Gilad Menashe - 233 (89%)
YCSC President
Jonah Chill - 251 (95%)
YCSC Vice President
David Lifschitz - 110 (40%)
Elie Shapiro - 97 (36%)
Avraham Walkenfeld - 57 (21%)
YCSC Treasurer
AJ Book - 131 (50%)
Sapir Amar - 111 (43%)
YSU President
Elazar Abrahams - 494 (86%)
YSU Vice President of Clubs
Baruch Lerman - 487 (88%)
YSU Vice President of Class Affairs
Michael Stark - 455 (85%)
YSU Senior Class Representative
Joey Wajsberg - 230 (84%)
YSU Junior Class Representative
Yisroel Tannenbaum - 127 (68%)
Binyamin Sloves - 51 (27%)
Amendments
The following is a breakdown of the vote totals and percentages for the amendments to the Wilf Student Constitution:
Amendment #1 (Clarifying Status of Makor Students and Grammar Edit)
PASSED
Yea - 348 (72%)
Nay - 134 (28%)
Amendment #2 (Changing Requirement to be Treasurer)
PASSED
Yea - 298 (63%)
Nay - 177 (37%)
Amendment #3 (Addressing Fall-2 Vacancy)
PASSED
Yea - 300 (66%)
Nay - 153 (34%)
Amendment #4 (Changing Requirements to be on the Ballot)
NOT PASSED
Yea - 266 (58%)
Nay - 189 (42%)
Amendment #5 (Making Student Court Suits Public and Establishing a Temporary Chief Justice)
PASSED
Yea - 306 (67%)
Nay - 150 (33%)
Amendment #6 (Leave of Absence Permission)
PASSED
Yea - 282 (63%)
Nay - 166 (37%)
Amendment #7 (No Holding Two Positions Simultaneously)
NOT PASSED
Yea - 269 (58%)
Nay - 196 (42%)
Amendment #8 (Minimum Student Body Vote Needed to Pass Future Amendments)
PASSED
Yea - 312 (68%)
Nay - 147 (32%)
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Editor's Note: This article was updated to include the breakdown of election results. The breakdown did not appear in The Commentator's print issue.
