American River College students will be dancing to a different tune after last week's campus elections ousted a bloc of student leaders who refused to back a music festival with punk bands.

"We can put on whatever bands we want on now," said Chuck Stevens, who won the director of activities race. The campus "music festival is going to happen."

The election pitted a slate of Christian fundamentalists with ties to the former Christian Civilization Club against a slate of students endorsed by a wide cross-section of at least a dozen student organizations.

Fourteen of the board's 17 newly elected representatives were on the "ARC Students for Change" slate, including David Fisher, student association president-elect.

The remainder were on the "ARC Students for Liberty" slate, said George "Yuriy" Popko, who lost his bid for president.

In the last year, the council voted to support the state proposition banning gay marriage, and it approved a resolution opposing the "Day of Silence," – an annual day of action protesting bullying of gay and lesbian students.

Last month, it refused to support a fundraising festival that included punk bands such as Flogging Molly.

Popko said Saturday he isn't conceding, and will challenge the vote tally because of faculty interference. "They practically hijacked the student election," he said.

Fisher and Stevens said the faculty helped ensure a fair election and didn't do anything inappropriate.

Campus officials weren't available for comment Saturday.

"We have no faith in the election results," Popko said.

Because of "clear violations of the student association guidelines," the votes should be recounted manually with students overseeing the process, he said.

He referred to administrators and faculty working election tables along with students to verify enrollment. College President David Viar also participated.

Students from both sides said some faculty offered extra credit to students who voted.

Fisher and Stevens said the administration was there to prevent anybody from stuffing the ballot box. "I'm glad the administration stepped in to make sure there was a clean, fair election," Fisher said.

Stevens said faculty encouraged people to vote but didn't tell them which way to vote.

Outgoing council President Jacob Johnson, who was not with either group, said the student association should have been allowed to conduct the election on its own. "It's a student government and it's supposed to be run by the students," Johnson said.

Over the two-day voting period Tuesday and Wednesday, 3,085 ballots were cast, roughly 9 percent of the 34,448 students enrolled, officials said. The turnout on a percentage basis is about the same as the failed attempt to recall much of the board after the Proposition 8 resolution. Both turnouts far exceeded the last regular election, when 545 votes were cast.

Fisher was elected president with 1,484 votes to Popko's 1,302.

On Saturday, Fisher and Stevens said they hope to steer the council back to dealing with day-to-day campus issues. "We don't want to write resolutions that support this, that and the other. Our job is to focus on issues like parking," Stevens said.

Fisher said his big goal is to get a textbook rental program up and running.

However, the incoming president said he did want to undo the school's resolution in support of Proposition 8.

"That resolution on Prop. 8 needs to be repealed," Fisher said. "I want to bring us back to neutral."

Call The Bee's Ed Fletcher, (916) 321-1269.