Six students were elected as GUSA representatives last night as a week of campaigning drew to a close.

Kah Yee Teh (SFS ’06) was elected to fill the vacant junior seat. Twister Murchison (SFS ’08), Pierce Nixon (COL ’08), Keegan Garza (SFS ’08) and Alysia Bone (COL ’08) will fill the freshman seats.

Jim Purcell (COL ’05) was elected as a write-in candidate to fill the class of 2005’s representative position.

Though he had been unaware of his own candidacy before the announcement of the results, Purcell received 18.6 percent of the vote. He will take the place of Ben Cote (COL ’05), who was elected to the assembly last April as a write-in candidate but resigned shortly thereafter.

In the freshman election, Murchison was the top vote-getter, winning 19.8 percent of the vote. Nixon was second with 13 percent of the vote, followed by Garza with 11.4 percent, and Bone with 11 percent.

Teh was voted in with 29.2 percent of the vote and will fill the seat vacated by Chris Schmitter (SFS ’06), who resigned last year after taking a leave of absence to work for Sen. John Kerry’s presidential campaign.

Following the announcement of the winners last night in Sellinger Lounge by GUSA Election Commissioner Mark Mancini (COL ’05), sitting assembly members congratulated the winning candidates, all of whom expressed excitement and, in the case of Purcell, obvious surprise.

“I was in no way involved in this,” he said of his impromptu candidacy. Still, he said he was excited to fill the seat.

The campaign was the effort of Purcell’s friends Kevin cAuliffe (COL ’05) and Brian McLaughlin (COL ’05). Relying mostly on the “glory of e-mail,” the self-styled “political masterminds” enlisted support across campus for Purcell as a write-in candidate, beginning shortly after midnight on Election Day. McAuliffe, reminiscing on Purcell’s tenure on the Village C Community Council, expressed confidence in the new representative.

“For the past two years he’s taken a break from student government, but now he’s back,” McAuliffe said.

The newly-elected freshmen representatives appeared excited to have won. A primary race on Tuesday narrowed the original field of 17 candidates to eight general election contestants.

Murchison said he would articulate the concerns of students and increase the level of communication between the student body and their student government.

Nixon also appeared eager to begin work as a representative. He listed as his main priority a commitment to expanding the hours of Georgetown dining halls.

“When I first arrived, it felt like you can make change from really any place in this school, but if you are doing it from an elected position it gives you legitimacy,” Nixon said.

Teh was elected on Tuesday in a close vote, edging out her closest competitor by just two percentage points. In a GUSA press release, she said improving housing and reforming housing eligibility rules would be her top priority.

“Seniors should be given priority in the housing lottery and it’s about time that we got the housing we want,” she said.

GUSA President Kelly Hampton (SFS ’05) called the new group of GUSA Assembly members “energetic and positive” and expressed confidence in their abilities.

“I look forward to them carrying over this enthusiasm to their work in the Assembly throughout the year,” Hampton said.

Overall, Mancini described turnout in the elections as average. About 300 juniors and nearly 450 freshmen participated in the contests.

A lack of candidates in the class of 2005’s GUSA election, in which no candidates filed to appear on the ballot, contributed to a low voter turnout.

One candidate in the junior race was disqualified after the election for improper posting of campaign signs and continuing to campaign after the campaign period had ended. The candidate, whose name was not released, has appealed the disqualification.

Mancini said that while the appeal is being given due consideration, the decision will not affect the outcome of the race since that candidate was not among the top three vote-getters.

– Hoya Staff Writer Aaron Terrazas contributed to this report