Graphic by Charlotte Alden.

Incumbent Eric Guerci won the SMOB seat, making him one of four students to serve a second term as a board member. SGA President and Vice President positions were left undecided, resulting in Whitman’s first ever run-off election between juniors Ari Gutman and Ari Neugeboren which Gutman eventually won. Voting for SGA and SMOB positions was April 27.

“By the end of the voting on Wednesday there was such a small margin between the top two candidates, one percent,” current SGA president Selvi Ulusan said. “Ms. Freedman and the current Executive Board thought the best way for the most fair and representative results would be to hold a run-off election.”

After the run-off was announced, both candidates took their campaigns to social media where they discussed their respective platforms on various school issues.

“I hosted a livestream that was about three hours long,” Neugeboren said. “We talked to the voters and answered questions that they may have.”

Similarly, Gutman livestreamed on Facebook, messaged people and posted two campaign videos.

“Livestreaming has recently become a trend and hasn’t really been utilized before,” Ulusan said. “I think the livestreams were a good tool to be able to talk with people directly. If used right and with respect, I think they are great.”

According to Leadership, Gutman won the run-off election by a sizeable margin.

Neugeboren will serve as Vice President for the 2016-2017 school year. Joining Gutman and Neugeboren on the Executive Board next year will be Treasurer Pablo Rothschild and Secretaries Emma Forde and Sophia Tompkins.

“I’m really excited to be able to continue working with leadership class next year,” Gutman said. “This executive board is going to do amazing things for the student body next year. Thank you to everyone who voted for me, the support has meant the world. I hope to make everyone proud as the next Student Body President.”

Guerci expressed the same enthusiasm for his second SMOB term, which begins July 1.

“I’m feeling optimistic about the state of our student body because our voice holds more power than ever now,” Guerci said. “The next steps include looking at how homework coincides with testing, continuing to look into mental health, and continuing to close the achievement gap which is an unwavering concern for the community.”

The SMOB represents students as a voting member on the Board of Education. Following the passage of legislation which increased the SMOB’s power in March of this year, Guerci now has full voting rights, including decisions related to collective bargaining, capital and operating budgets and school closings, reopenings and boundaries.

According to MCPS, Guerci received 54 percent of the votes, edging out his opponent, Richard Montgomery sophomore Alex Abrosimov, who received 46 percent.

“I voted for Eric instead of Alex because I liked what he did last year, including helping to take out finals,” junior Dawson MacKay said. “I’d love to see him continue to make change in our system.”

While Abrosimov lost, he said he has learned a lot from his campaigning experience.

“It isn’t just about one or two elections,” Abrosimov said. “It’s about the student movement. I lost this one, but I’m even more encouraged to help students now.”