???Current Student Association Treasurer John Martin was elected Thursday as the next Student Representative on the UB Council, defeating Marc Huberfeld by nearly 38 percentage points.
???Martin will work alongside appointed officials as the sole voice for students on the council, a great influence on the relationship between UB and Albany.
???Martin said that he believes his position on the issues is that of the students.
???"I don't really have a personal agenda... My job is to be the intermediary between the students and the administration," Martin said. "My goal is to stay in close contact with the students, figure out what the students need, and what they'd like the administration to hear and represent that."
???Martin said he would like to attain a broad perspective of students' opinions by polling and interviewing students at all levels and interests. He says that there is a "large silent majority" that needs to be represented, listening to not only those speaking out against new legislation, but also those who aren't as active in speaking out in general.
???Martin will begin work as representative this summer, extending through summer of 2010, replacing current Council Student Representative and former Spectrum Editor in Chief Robert Pape.
???Martin received 68.802 percent of the vote to Huberfeld's 31 percent, according to results released by Student Life.
???Jennifer Wantz, associate director of student activities, said via e-mail that 1,311 students voted through UBLearns. A few students' votes did not count because they did not vote for one candidate, resulting in the total not equaling 100 percent.
???Martin has been mentioned in The Spectrum recently regarding the struggle between this paper and SA to reach an agreement over the $1 subscription fee, an issue that will most likely be inherited by the upcoming treasurer in the next SA administration.
