COLORADO SPRINGS — On the heels of a controversy over student-fee funding for a gay group at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, two gay students have been elected president and vice president for the next school year.
“It’s pretty amazing for this campus and certainly historical,” said Crystal Duckhorn, co-chair of Spectrum, a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender club on campus.
Polls closed Saturday for the election of student leaders for the term that begins in August. Daniel Garcia and James Burge — both openly gay — will be president and vice president, Duckhorn said Monday. They beat out three other teams of candidates, including the incumbent team of president David Williams and vice president Andy Adair, both of whom were impeached by the student body government in recent weeks.
The student government senate though, has not yet voted to remove them from office.
Their term ends June 1.
Williams came under fire shortly after school started in the fall for refusing to sign off on a request from Spectrum for $2,100 in student activity fees to fund a “coming out day” observance. Williams cited his beliefs and convictions as the reason. But because Williams did not veto the proposal, the funding request automatically passed after five school days, as per the student constitution, and the group received the money for its event.
Read more about the controversy at .
