In a stunning turn of events, former vice president Joshua D. Liston '95 was narrowly elected president of the Undergraduate Council last night.

Liston beat opponent Rudd W. Coffey '97 by a vote of 37 to 35 in a runoff election. In the first vote, Liston and Coffey had 27 and 26 votes respectively, eliminating the pre-vote favorite, Randall A. Fine '96, who had 21 votes.

Liston said he was happy not only for his victory but also for the success of his commitment to bringing the council closer to students.

"I'm very happy with the results," Liston said. "I'm glad that the theme of greater student inclusion won tonight. I am humbled by the victory, but the real work starts tomorrow."

Fine, widely considered to be the favorite in the race, expressed incredulity after the results were announced.

"No shit I'm surprised," Fine said. "I think no one is more surprised than I, but I would wish Josh all the luck in the world."

While Fine said that he did not plan to run for president again in the future, he would continue to be heavily involved in council business and would try to pursue the issues in his position paper, such as reforming the Core program and bringing cable TV to the College.

Coffey was positive in the face of his defeat, citing hopes to continue in his position as Chair of the College Life Committee.

"I made a strong showing, and it was a close vote, so I feel good," Coffey said. "It should be an exciting semester for Campus Life."

Coffey said he probably would run for president again in the future.

"I have long term goals in mind," he said. "As long as my vision of the councilis not realized, I will continue to be active, andI will try to run again."

Former president David L. Hanselman '94-'95said he was excited by Liston's election and theprospects for student involvement which he said itsymbolized.

"I was surprised yet sincerely thrilled thatJosh Liston Won for the sole reason that he wasthe candidate most committed to bringing thecouncil to the students," Hanselman said.

Brandon C. Gregoire '95, who dropped out of thepresidential race last week, said he thought hiscandidacy and allegations he made against Fineduring the race affected the outcome.

Gregoire had accused Fine of having tamperedwith the council's constitution and conspiringwith Hanselman to selectively expel members of thecouncil based on their political allegiances. Finerepeatedly denied the allegations.

"I don't know for sure what made the councilmembers decide who to vote for," Gregoire said."But tonight the council members definitely showedwho they feel the most comfortable with as aleader."