The Class of 2011 elects its first representatives

By: Ming Wen

Posted: 10/11/07

Say hello to the new student body officers for the class of 2011. This past Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 4-6, Hopkins' Student Council (StuCo) held their freshmen class elections. "There was a huge increase in the candidate pool this year," said Tyler Krus, head of Committee of Student Elections. This year's voter turnout of 50 percent was slightly below last year's, which itself was a 25 percent increase over the previous year.

"We think that has to do with just the method in which people were campaigning, which was more on a personal basis," Krus said. "I really think it's a matter of candidates taking a different stance. "When you have so many candidates, it's more important to have a plurality than a majority."

An effort was made to increase the candidate pool, voter turnout and voter awareness. Last year there were five candidates for president. This year, however, there were 12. All of this year's student council candidates had to go through a rigorous candidacy process.

"We experimented this time and got a lot of feedback. Fewer resources will be spent in the years to come on things that weren't as successful." Krus said.

They had to attend information sessions, mandatory meetings, collect 100 signatures, then submit candidate statements, scripts and make YouTube videos. This year's elections were the first to feature online video and large numbers of direct e-mails to freshmen.

It was also the first Student Council election to have a Facebook group and an election night, during which candidates had one last chance to meet voters and to reach out to their constituency in the comfort of Fresh Food Café. The candidates were limited to a shorter campaign period of one week to keep the level of intensity and focus high. They handed out fliers and t-shirts, created Web sites and got the word out about themselves. This year's large number of candidates for the positions of president and vice president had a significant effect on the election's dynamics. Candidates quickly realized the importance of winning over a small core of loyal voters as opposed to large masses of fickle voters.

Daniel Teran and Nicholas Gilson were elected president and vice president, respectively. Sam Lichtenstein was elected class secretary while Brian Pascal was elected senator of Leadership Appointments. Daniel deLeon was chosen to be the senator of legislation and Stephanie Hsu was picked to be the senator of authorization. Justin White is this year's senator of finance.

"We're all pretty pleased. We're excited about making good stuff happen on campus," said Daniel Teran, president-elect. "I'm excited to be given this opportunity. I look forward to working with Dan along with the rest of Student Council throughout the coming year," said Nicholas Gilson, vice-president-elect. The two will be working on Hopkins Engaged, a program that seeks to increase dialogue about national politics and register voters at Hopkins.

"Hopkins has been traditionally viewed as politically apathetic, and we're trying to change that," Teran said. The two will also be working on the Blue Jay Book Exchange, an online database to buy and sell books directly between students, cutting out the middleman.

This year's freshman class president is expected to serve as the chief spokesperson of the class of 2011, direct all class activities, and serve the Student Life Committee. The freshman class vice president is expected to assist the president, represent the class in his or her absence, and also serve the Student Life Committee.

"I'm happy that the class had the confidence to elect me and I look forward to representing the class in the year ahead. I'm going to work with the president and v.p. and make sure my campaign platform is represented so that we can have the most effective representation for the freshman class," said Sam Lichtenstein, Class Secretary-elect.

The Student Council has seen consistent growth in people who want to get involved and has enjoyed a more positive image on campus.