After a hard-fought campaign, sophomore Timothy Hoffman has been elected as Student Government Association president for the 2014-2015 academic year.
Hoffman, who also ran successfully for the Hackensack Board of Education, won the race by a slim 29-vote margin, earning 51 percent of the vote over opponent Ashley Jefferson.
Jefferson, a junior, said that although she wishes Hoffman the best of luck, she will not be involved with student government next year, and "looks forward to exploring new opportunities on campus."
This year marked one of the highest voter turnouts for the SGA elections in recent memory, with more than 1,400 ballots being cast for the presidential race.
"I would like to sincerely thank everyone for their support of my team and our student government," Hoffman said. "Winning the election was a tremendous feeling because of all the time and energy that our team poured into this effort. It was truly great to have the message of unity resonate with everyone on campus. During the campaign, it was apparent that the election was going to be very close, which caused great anxiety for the team. However, we were confident in the team and everyone's hard work during the campaign truly made a difference."
Assistant Dean of Leadership Development Maggie Bach said she was impressed by the efforts of both Hoffman and Jefferson.
"Both presidential candidates ran fantastic campaigns," Bach said. "This is clear by the high voter turnout and the small margin of victory."
Hoffman replaces the two-term incumbent SGA President Joseph Donato. Donato, a senior, said he was thrilled to have Hoffman succeed him.
"Tim has been a fighter for the students of Seton Hall since his first day on the SGA," Donato said. "I was proud to support him during the campaign and look forward to a thorough transition. I have full confidence in the new tram and so should my fellow students."
Hoffman and the new SGA senate will be inducted at 4 p.m. on April 7.
Clayton Collier can be reached at clayton.collier@student.shu.edu.
