The candidates for USG executive and class senator positions met last night in Frist Campus Center to outline key objectives of their campaigns.
The USG hopefuls addressed issues including improving financial aid for eating club membership, creating a 24-hour study space, adding new social and eating options for independent students and improving the underclassman advising system.
Although some candidates emphasized their prior experience in the USG, touting their contacts with administrators and their experience on committees, other candidates referred to their inexperience and 'outsider' status as beneficial.
Of the presidential candidates, Johnny Chavkin is a Class of 2005 senator, Matt Margolin '05 serves as a U-Council Member, Jacqui Perlman '05 is the current USG Vice President and Amy Saltzman '05 is Academics Chair. Neither Gabe Doyle '05 nor Leslie-Bernard Joseph '06 have previous experience in the USG.
"I'm not the standard candidate; I'm not in USG," Doyle said, "but it's not if you have experience that matters; it's how you adapt."
Many candidates cited perceptions that the USG is ineffectual and proposed that their election to the USG would result in actual change. "Change doesn't come by sitting on committees," Margolin said. Chakvin spoke of the "disillusion of the USG" and Doyle appealed to voters "tired of anti-intellectualism and diversity committees," both of which are issues USG has addressed recently.
Perlman proposed to turn Café Vivian in to a 24-hour study space, provide full grants for students to join an eating club and offer high-speed webcasts of athletic events.
"I want to see that performing artists have enough practice space, athletes have enough support and attention, student groups have enough funding [and] job-seekers have the best resources available to them," Perlman said.
Though he sees problems that range from "the mundane to loftier issues," Chavkin plans to emphasize "continued Honor Code reform, Tigervision reform and more trash cans on campus."
Saltzman called for a better advising system and suggested improved 24-hour common areas in the residential colleges to act as study space accessible to all students and to foster relationships between upperclassmen and underclassmen.
Joseph, the sole sophomore presidential candidate, spoke on "how Princeton gets along as a community" and emphasized the improvement of interpersonal relationships.
Margolin noted his past successes on a committee for precept reform and in addressing file sharing and the cost of Pequod packets while proposing changes that would benefit independent students and athletes.
Doyle emphasized his ability as an outsider to focus on new issues instead of working on the same areas, which he said have been exhausted by the USG.
Emily Arensman '06, who is running for Treasurer, Juan Lessing '05, the candidate for Undergraduate Life Chair, Shoum Chakravarti '05, who is running for Academics Chair and Robert Wai Wong '06, the candidate for Campus and Community Affairs Chair are all running unopposed.
Camille Coates '06 is the only current class senator who is running for reelection. Because each class has two positions, Coates, Michael Murray '06, Derek Jun '05 and Catherine Pack '05 are all running unopposed for election as class senators.
While there are only two candidates each running for senate positions for the Classes of 2005 and 2006, there are eight candidates for 2007 class senator.
The candidates for 2007 class senator are: Freddie Flaxman '07, Lauren Hedinger '07, Jin-Hee Kim '07, Alex Lenahan '07, Alexie Rothman '07, Pam Testani '07, Carol Wang '07 and Chris Willis '07.
USG and Whig-Clio will sponsor a debate between the presidential candidates in front of the Frist Display Wall tomorrow at 7 p.m.
Elections for most executive USG positions and for class senators will begin Sunday, Dec. 7 at 8 a.m. and will end Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 7:59 a.m. In the event no candidate receives more than half the vote for all but the class senator positions, a runoff election will be take place from Dec. 10 at 1 p.m. to Dec. 11 at 1 p.m.
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