Cardinal Impact huddled together crying and laughing about five minutes before the 2009 Student Government Association elections results were announced.
Before the results came in, SGA President-elect Beth Cahill said her stomach was knotted, she had trouble breathing, her hands were clammy and all she could do was pray.
About 40 people waited at FIJI fraternity's house for the next few minutes to watch Elections Chair Marco Pretell-Vazquez announce Cardinal Impact would be the next slate to represent Ball State University's student body.
Cahill said she felt "incredible" once the results were announced and the crowd was screaming, jumping, hugging and high-fiving. Having so many people support Cardinal Impact through the election season and the controversy the slate went through in the beginning made a significant difference, she said.
"This is what we lost sleep over, what we stopped eating for," Cahill said. "To have fought through that and get closer, it means everything."
Quitting would have been easy for the slate, she said, but representing the students is too important to the members. She said she didn't think any member put more effort into anything.
Campaign manager Betsy Mills said winning the election meant a lot after all the problems during the election season. Even though all three slates ran into trouble with rule violations, she said she believed every slate's intentions were honest and they all had good ideas.
Mills said she was thrilled to see Cardinal Impact win because it worked so hard and they have the ability to do great things while in office.
"I've been here before," Mills said, "and I think these guys are going to be great."
Treasurer-elect Nick Turner said the first five seconds after he heard the announcement were a blur. He thought about the past few weeks and all of the people who helped the slate and became "overwhelmed with joy," he said.
After receiving hugs and congratulatory wishes from almost the whole crowd and toasts from two sisters of vice president-elect Mandy Mills, Cardinal Impact thanked everyone for their hard work and support during the election season.
Turner said the support Cardinal Impact received, especially from FIJI, was amazing. He said the slate had been practically living at the fraternity's house during the campaign.
Cardinal Impact received 56 percent of the total vote over University Coalition (26 percent) in second place and Cardinal Collaboration (18 percent) in third place.
Impact received 1,838 votes out of 3,282 total. The total votes increased from last year by 816.
SGA Vice President Carrie Cozad said she was happy to see the increased number of votes, but was surprised with the results.
"I did kind of think it would be a little bit closer," Cozad said, "at least between two of the slates."
SGA President Frank Hood clarified the current slate's sentiment, explaining their surprise to Cardinal Impact's large margin of victory.
"The level of campaigning from University Coalition and Cardinal Impact seemed to be really on par with each other," Hood said. "There was a lot of buzz generated between those two slates."
Pretell-Vazquez also was surprised by the 976-vote difference between Cardinal Impact and University Coalition. He said he expected the race to be closer.
The Elections Board was encouraged by the increased student input from last year, Pretell-Vazquez said, although this year's figures still fell short of the 2007 SGA election results.
Betsy Mills said Cardinal Impact's transition would involve filling its cabinet, getting to know the SGA office and resources and working with Campus Alliance to pick up where it left off.
Cahill said the slate would take the rest of this week to catch up on sleep and homework. Cardinal Impact will begin filling its cabinet and working with Hood to ensure a smooth transition. She said the members would only make plans to take over and relax until after Spring Break.
Campus Alliance members said the transition process begins almost immediately for the next slate. SGA Secretary Ebony Strong said there is much ground for Cardinal Impact to make up if they hope to overcome previous transgressions.
"I definitely think they have a lot they're going to have to do when they get in office to build that trust back," Strong said. "That's with students and administrators, because I'm pretty sure administrators have been keeping track just as much as students."
Hood agreed that Cardinal Impact will have to recover from the first SGA nomination convention when the validity of the slate's required signatures came into question. He said the new SGA leaders will not be able to take office and instantly develop a rapport with students and administrators.
"You have to go in, build the trust and be positive," Hood said. "You have to have that sterling reputation, or else (administrators) are not going to be willing to work with you."
Joe Lanane contributed to this report.
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