Association of Student Governments elects Nunnery, Sedwick as next leaders

WINSTON-SALEM — A closely contested race for the next UNC-system Association of Student Governments leaders ended Saturday with only one ticket on the ballot.

Junior Robert Nunnery of UNC-Pembroke was elected president, and sophomore Olivia Sedwick of Winston-Salem State University was elected senior vice president of the association, which is composed of delegates from all 17 UNC-system schools and is funded by an annual $1 student fee.

The Nunnery-Sedwick ticket received 28 of 63 votes — not the required majority — at the association’s meeting at Winston-Salem State University.

One of the opposing candidates, John Secrest, a junior at Appalachian State University, and his running mate Anita Simha, a high school senior at the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics, received 25 votes, which would have forced the election into a run-off.

But Secrest conceded the election to Nunnery. He said he did not wish to divide the association with a run-off election.

“It was time for ASG to rally behind a new president,” he said.

The delegations from NCSSM and the UNC School of the Arts left before the ballots were counted.

Secrest said when the two delegations left, he realized his ticket would lose some votes, which factored into his decision to concede.

Ron Hinton, an East Carolina University junior, and his running mate, April Love of Fayetteville State University, received only 10 votes.

Nunnery said after the election that representing student interests was his top priority — referencing Gov. Pat McCrory’s budget proposal, which would cut $55 million from the UNC system, as well as legislators’ comments about possibly consolidating system universities, as reasons to fight for students.

“With the budget coming out this week and the threat of shutting an institution down, we need to focus on advocacy,” Nunnery said.

Nunnery’s platform emphasized building personal relationships with the UNC-system Board of Governors to promote liberal arts education, minimize budget cuts, lower tuition and maintain student loan interest rates.

Current ASG President Cameron Carswell said she plans to work this summer with the new leadership to ensure a successful transition.

Carswell aimed to make the association a place of camaraderie and unity this year, she said.

“The campaign is always a very touchy and a very sensitive time, but I hope everyone has come away with the impact that this is an important group,” she said. “They can be part of something a lot greater than themselves and greater than their personal (student governments).”

Contact the desk editor at state@dailytarheel.com.