Twenty-nine freshmen vie for class officer positions

At the stroke of midnight Sunday, the Class of 2007 began voting for its student officers.

Twenty-nine freshmen are vying for the positions of president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and social chair of the class.

These candidates have plastered colorful fliers on the bulletin boards of residential colleges, dining halls, and academic buildings all over campus.

"The fliers are basically the freshman class's only conduit by which to become acquainted with the candidates," Lia Yu '07 said.

Freshmen run for class office only weeks into classes, before they necessarily know those who might vote for them.

While some candidates try to meet potential voters by moving from table to table in residential college dining halls, most rely solely on the posters distributed throughout the campus.

Many posters include catchy phrases, such as that of presidential hopeful Meka Asonye '07: "If you want a great year, click the checka, vote for Meka!"

Even for those who live in Forbes College, there are ways to campaign effectively to meet fellow freshmen in all of the colleges.

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Treasurer candidate Jean Yin '07 said she made two different kinds of fliers, one for the tight-knit community in Forbes and the other for the rest of the campus.

Many of the candidates said they thought competition in the election has remained amiable.

Elle Kennedy '07, who is running for secretary, has a friend running for the same office. Kennedy said the apparent conflict has not troubled the friendship.

In fact, quite a few of the candidates said they are running for office simply to meet people and find out where their fellow classmates' interests and ideas lie. Allie Bonilla '07, who is running for social chair, said she decided to run when she realized she didn't know everyone in her hallway and that those people "could be a future George Eliot or Karl Roves."

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"I want to facilitate class cohesion," Bonilla said.

Finding out what voters want is essential to the platforms of the candidates. Common themes include improving class unity and planning social events.

Presidential candidate Cody May '07 said he has plans for University-wide events once a month to bring together all four classes.

Possible events include battle of the bands in different genres, community service, blood-drives, "and anything else that you could think of," May said.

Matthew Feinstein '07, who is running for vice president, said he hopes to bring Friday back as a weekend night by holding mixers, movie nights or theme parties in the dining halls or Frist Campus Center.

Most important to the election in general, however, is voter turnout. "I hope people go out to vote because things like this are important," said Yin.

To encourage freshmen to vote, computer kiosks on the main level of the Frist Campus Center will be reserved for voting all day today, Shaun Callaghan '06, USG secretary, said.