As the spring semester comes to an end at Bakersfield College, the Student Government Association announced April 14 the newly elected officials for the 2016-2017 school year.

The candidate announced as the new president of the SGA, who will take the place of current president Clayton Fowler for the 2016-2017 school year, is Matthew Frazer.

Frazer sealed his victory in a close race with 240 votes, against opponents Manuel Zavala with 221 votes, and Geena Olague with 213 votes.

With a smile on his face, Frazer took to the podium and made a brief acceptance speech to thank his supporters.

“I couldn’t have done this without the ASL club and the Deaf community because they were a big advocate for me, and I really appreciate it,” he said.

Frazer, a political science major in the pre-law program at BC, also took the time to thank God stating, “Last week was one of the toughest in my life, and I have to thank God for getting me through it.”

As the newly elected president of the SGA, Frazer has stated that he plans to assist the students in any way needed.

Frazer hopes to “be the person who brings a voice to your ideas, and a voice for the Bakersfield College Renegades”.

After the polls closed April 14, current SGA officials gathered in the Fireside Room to announce the winners.

Sen. Maddie Herndon and Parliamentarian Kyle Mann led the brief meeting, and began by assessing that BC’s current population is 18,332 students and there was a total of 751 votes cast.

Although there is an evident divide between the population and the number of students who voted, Herndon noted that there was a 4.10 percent voter turnout.

Herndon said, “We had an increase from last year’s election, which had a turnout of 3.11 percent.” Students could vote from April 11-14.

The first candidates to be addressed were for the position of senator.

Due to there being only five candidates and 12 openings, Erik Alexander Garcia-Gregorio, Fitzgerald Graves, Nicolas Montero-Garcia, Lawrence Salcido, and Tania Bernal were all appointed as senators.

For the position of BC SGA Director of Organization, Daron Dontae Smith Jr. was announced as the winner with 357 votes, and Jeremiah Marsh came in second with 226.

For the position of vice president, Galo Jimenez ran unopposed and was elected with 346 votes.

Before announcing who would be the next president, Kyle Mann pointed out that there are still open positions that need to be filled for SGA.

A Director of Finance, Director of Activities, Ledge Affairs, Board of Justices, and Manager of Student Activities are all positions that are still available.