The students have spoken. The students were heard. The Student Government Association executive board for the 2011-2012 academic year will be colored orange.

On Monday, Feb. 28, all seven members of the Building Bridges ticket were elected to serve their peers after a historic 2,807 students voted in the SGA elections. With three tickets vying for the available positions, election campaigns were more dynamic and incorporated many more outlets than the conventional poster and button campaigns seen in years past.

Yet now that the video series on YouTube and Facebook has stopped, and the yellow hard hats are stored away, the reactions of students and current executive board members are the final step in the 2011 SGA election season.

Building Bridges ran a campaign that resonated with students, and this can be found in the words of the voters themselves.

“I really like Building Bridges because they went out to the students to get voters,” Kristin Evans, sophomore in the John Cook School of Business, said. “The videos helped because it allowed them to reach their main audience.”

Junior Sean Book of the College of Arts and Sciences also took note of the videos and their effects on the election.

“I don’t know if they impacted the vote, but it definitely left an impression,” Book said. “They left us asking more questions of the candidates.”

Now that the Building Bridges campaign has gathered the attention of students and has successfully had their entire ticket elected to office, the executive board-to-be must cross their first bridge before building their own. A bridge of transition is the next step for the successors, but until then the current executive board weighs in on their elected successors.

Though no current executive board member expressed disappointment in the newly elected officials, some board members have their concerns.

“Well to be honest, I think [Scott Hessel] is going to have a hard road ahead of him without ever having been in SGA,” Murphy Vandenberg, vice president of internal affairs, said. “I think he’s fully qualified and will do a great job, but even I forgot things with my two years of experience. That was really the only aspect that concerned me.”

Financial vice president Tim Janczewski also had his concerns of Jonathan Serpas, financial vice president elect.

“One thing the financial vice president has to have, above everything else, is a commitment to the student organizations,” Janczewski said. “I think one thing he needs to work on is his commitment to that now that he is elected.”

Janczewski said Serpas has room for improvement, and he is willing to make sure

Serpas gains the experience necessary to start off the next semester. Janczewski said he was concerned about Serpas’ understanding of the gravity of the position.

While Vandenberg and Janczewski have their respective concerns, not every outgoing member of the Come Together executive board feels the same.

Both Katie Becherer, current academic vice president, and Oscar Vazquez, current vice president of diversity and social justice, said they expect their successors to do well.

Kripa Sreepada was elected for vice president of diversity and social justice, and Patrick Grillot will serve as the new academic vice president.

Stephanie Song and Tyler Sondag were voted into the positions of vice president of international affairs and vice president of student organizations, respectively.

Matt Ryan was elected to the role of president, and his predecessor, Courtney Anvender said she anticipates what Ryan has planned.

“I think he’s going to do a great job,” Anvender said. “He ran a very creative campaign, and I think that says something about how he’ll assume this position.”

Anvender noted Ryan’s use of videos and social media and credited the “immense” voter turnout to Ryan’s utilization of various media formats.  Anvender hopes the increased voter participation will translate into student enthusiasm and investment in SGA.

Anvender said she also realizes the transition of her tenure in SGA to the era of Ryan is “crucial.”

“You have to know not only the job but also the power dynamic and politics behind [the role], and that’s not something you can learn without doing your due diligence,” Anvender said. “Experience only comes with time, so start early.”

Additional reporting by wNews Editor Kristen Miano, Enterprise Editor Erika Miller and Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Ernst.