Thirty apply to run for Young Alumni Trustee position

The Class of 2009 YAT will serve on the 40-member board from July 1, 2009, to July 1, 2013.

For the candidates who handed in petitions with the required 50 signatures yesterday, campaigning is strictly prohibited. During the election period, candidates for YAT are not allowed to take a position on any issue that may come before the board in the future or to publicize their candidacy through posters, e-mail or other forms of mass communication. They are also not allowed to permit solicitation on their behalf.

“I think it’s a good thing that we’re not allowed to campaign,” said a senior who is running. Seniors attending the meeting who are quoted in this article spoke under conditions of anonymity because of the strict campaign regulations.

“All the seniors right now are worried about other things, and if one person steps up and campaigns, then it makes the other 25 feel like they have to match that somehow,” she explained. “I feel like our class is small enough [that] we are familiar with one another, and we will make a good decision.”

Though campaigning is prohibited, the candidates’ names, photographs and biographical information will be published at the beginning of the election period to inform voters about the seniors.

Andrew Gossen ’93, senior associate director for administration in the Alumni Association, led a meeting for the candidates Monday evening. He emphasized the importance of cooperation and communication under the guidelines.

“Your role is to participate in an election process that adheres as closely as possible to the guidelines,” he told the seniors. “I hope we can all focus on the bigger picture here.”

Gossen explained that the board created the guidelines and reviews them carefully each year to make sure they are still relevant, particularly as internet-based forms of campaigning have become increasingly common.

Candidates at the meeting generally appeared to be accepting of the campaign ban, asking for clarification on the prohibited actions. Though they are running against each other, the candidates took time before the meeting to sign each other’s petitions.

A senior at the meeting asked if candidates would be required to report solicitation on their behalf should they encounter it during the election period. “The sort of person we would want to be on the board probably would [report the solicitation],” Gossen replied.

On Feb. 2, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Students Thomas Dunne sent an e-mail from Gossen to the senior class, informing them of the campaign and inviting them to take part.

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“This is an opportunity to have an effect on the current planning and future development of the University, while learning how it functions on a variety of levels,” Gossen said. “A Young Alumni Trustee has the same responsibilities and voting privileges as all other members of the Board.”

“You can make a substantial contribution to the Board,” Gossen added. “As a recent graduate, you will be familiar with both general and specific student concerns that may range from academic advising to social life issues. The information you bring will sharpen and improve the discussion at Board of Trustees meetings.”

A senior attending the meeting confirmed the benefits and significance of the YAT position. “I think it’s important to have a young alumni trustee because they have a closer connection to Princeton — the campus as it is and the campus as it will be — and they can really provide the perspective of somebody who’s being affected by the policies as they are being made.”

The current young alumni trustees are Meaghan Petersack ’08, Jim Williamson ’07 and Brady Walkinshaw ’06. Matt Margolin ’05 will step down from his post to make way for this year’s winner.

Primary elections, in which only members of the senior class are eligible to vote, will be held through online voting from Feb. 27 to March 5. The three candidates with the highest vote totals will then proceed to the general election that will begin on April 23, in which members of the classes of 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 can vote. The winner’s name will be announced on May 30 during Reunions.

In the 2002 primary campaign, only 46.7 percent of seniors voted. A year later, 54 percent participated. In 2005, 708 of the roughly 1,200 seniors voted in the primary election. In 2007, roughly half the class voted. Last year, 572 of about 1,175 seniors voted in the election.

Former University president Robert Goheen created the YAT position in 1969.

The Class of 2009 candidates for YAT, currently pending certification, are: Grant Bermann, Angela Cai, Jacob Candelaria, Phil Chacko, Neil Chen, Davion Chism, James Coan, Elizabeth Dilday, Arthur Ewenczyk, Kelley Frances Fenelon, Matthew Halgren, Bruce Halperin, Christian Harris, Jaryn Horner, Libby Hutton, Jonathan Keller, Katie Ko, Susan Lyon, Mike Monagle, Kenton Murray, Michael Ryan, Maria Salciccioli, Charlie Sneath, Marya Stansky, John Taggart, Ben Tagoe, Jacqueline Temkin, Harold "Beau" Thomas, Josh Weinstein and Alec Williams.