UPDATED: Sunday, April 15 at 10:03 p.m.

Ghufran Salih and Kyle Rosenblum sat together on a small sofa in an Ackerman Avenue house, nervously waiting for a phone call.

It was about 12:10 a.m. on Friday. The Student Association presidential and vice presidential candidates were waiting for a committee representative from SA’s board of elections and membership to deliver the 2018 election results.

Salih’s phone went off, her ringtone the “Law & Order” theme song. A few moments later, she grinned and put her head on Rosenblum’s shoulder as the room exploded into cheers. The two sophomores had just won the election.

“We can’t wait … to make sure student voices are heard,” Salih said after the announcement, as a crowd of about 20 friends and campaign staffers mingled.

Salih, an information and technology major, and Rosenblum, a psychology major, defeated two pairs of candidates early Friday morning: Kaitlyn Ellsweig and Ryan Houck, and John Jankovic and Serena Fazal.

Sophia Faram, chair of SA’s board of elections and membership committee, said 2,810 undergraduates voted in this year’s election, about 400 more votes than last year. In 2016, more than 4,100 students voted in elections.

Faram said Ambrose Gonzalez, a junior management major, was elected comptroller for the 2018-19 academic year.

In an interview Sunday night, Salih said she and Rosenblum want to sit down with current SA President James Franco and Vice President Angie Pati for meetings to become as acclimated with SA as possible.

Alexandra Moreo | Senior Staff Photographer

Upon taking office, Salih also said she wants to push the university to recognize American Sign Language as an official language at SU to improve accessibility, especially for registered student organizations who want ASL interpretation at events.

“It’s important for us to learn as much as we can, for as long as we can, before we actually assume the positions,” Salih said.

Salih and Rosenblum, who announced their campaign in March, focused on five pillars: diversity and inclusion, health and wellness, transparency in the Syracuse University administration, community engagement and an “unwritten” fifth theme. Students will eventually decide what the fifth theme is, Salih said.

“We are so grateful for this opportunity to just run a campaign and to be able to serve,” Rosenblum said.

During the campaign, the pair called on SU to release a detailed cost report of a five-year, $100 million academic fundraising initiative called Invest Syracuse. The initiative includes a new $3,300 tuition premium for first-year and transfer students starting school this fall. Salih and Rosenblum also said that, if elected, they would push the university to increase funding for the Slutzker Center for International Services, the LGBT Resource Center and the Counseling Center.

Molly Gibbs | Asst. Photo Editor

While Rosenblum has served on SA’s health and wellness subcommittee, Salih has no formal experience with the organization. Salih is involved with other campus groups, including First Year Players and the Muslim Student Association.

Rosenblum and Salih met each other through mutual friends during the second half of their freshman year, but didn’t become close until Welcome Week 2017.

The pair, who were both orientation leaders, participated in a retreat when the whole group decided to take a night hike. Salih, who described herself as super clumsy, was afraid of tripping in the dark.

On South Campus, Jankovic and Ellsweig hosted separate election watch parties Friday morning with a small group of friends in their respective apartments. After the results were announced, Ellsweig said she was “a little disappointed,” but excited for Salih and Rosenblum.

“(I’m) grateful to have the opportunity to run and have met so many amazing people that we wouldn’t have met otherwise,” Ellsweig said.

Jankovic, on possibly running for SA president again in the future, said: “I wouldn’t discard it, the passion is still there.” Both he and Fazal also congratulated Salih and Rosenblum.

The three campaigns had similar platforms. During a debate hosted by SA earlier this month, all of the candidates also agreed that sexual assault is a problem on campus.

Rosenblum, at the time, said he and Salih would request and release a sexual assault and relationship violence report if elected, similar to an SA mental health report published a few semesters ago, which he said prompted the school to hire more counselors.

James Franco, SA’s current president, and Angie Pati, the current vice president, attended Salih and Rosenblum’s party. Faram also stopped by. Franco said all three campaigns ran a great race. He added that he’s excited to pass the torch on to Salih and Rosenblum.

Still sitting on the couch, a few moments after the results were announced, Salih gave an impromptu victory speech. She said it wouldn’t have been possible without her campaign staff.

“I can’t wait to work alongside my best friend,” Salih said.

— Staff writer India Miraglia and senior staff photographer Alexandra Moreo contributed reporting to this article.

This post has been updated with additional reporting.

Published on April 13, 2018 at 12:15 am

Contact Sam: sfogozal@syr.edu | @SamOgozalek