Posted by Andrew Shi
On Wednesday night nearly 80 students attended the presentation of speeches for the Student Government Association elections in the Spa from 6- 8 p.m. A live feed allowed those in the dining hall to also watch. Ten first year students ran for the open offices for the class of 2015, while six junior candidates presented their platforms as well. Speeches were limited to three minutes and candidates were asked to avoid mentioning opponents. Each session of speeches was followed up by a Q &A with the audience.
First years Jarred Green, Liliana Riveraand Tobi Ewing are all running for class social chair. The candidates spoke of their past experiences in government, and emphasized the importance of disseminating information and organizing new events on campus, as well as raising funds to support said events.
Nile Nair '15 and Rebecca Shesser '15 are both seeking the position of class treasurer. Nair said that he would not be "limited to bureaucracy and monetary restrictions" and would do what was in his power to fund events that the student body wanted. Shesser offered ideas as to how she would raise money, including sports and game tournaments that would have a participatory fee.
Vice president candidates are Nikhita Winkler '15 and Noam Yossefy '15. Winkler said that as vice president she would, through planned events, "foster class community" and "create an environment to accept and respect one another." Yossefy said that she would improve existing first year orientations and housing questionnaires for future classes and also reform the tutoring system.
Soraya Attia '15, Chantal Moore '15 and Allan Brown '15 are all vying for class president. Attia focused her platform on issues concerning dorm wireless, limited library hours and a flawed point penal system, while Brown spoke about designating rooms to bands and musicians, fundraisers through raffles and t-shirts and adapting the dining hall projector to "show popular shows and movies," in addition to the sports it now commonly airs.
Moore introduced herself as someone with "the ability to understand diversity" and, hence, would not be "subject to one voice, one group, one idea." All three candidates emphasized the importance of advertising new events throughout the year.
Once the first year speeches ended, the unopposed Class Secretary Julia Hutson '13, through her proxy Evan Friedler '13, pronounced her determination to organize more Junior sponsored events.
Also unopposed was Will Wygal '13, who is seeking class social chair. He emphasized his openness to new ideas and his desire "to promote school music talent." He also spoke about bringing novel themes to the Junior Ring, such as Mad Men.
Four candidates, Skylar Sasson '12, William Heidepriem-Baird '14, Stephen Yell '13 and Luke Conley '14, are running for the two open seats of senator at large.
Heidepriem-Baird cited his work at the U.S Senate where he was able to examine the mechanics of the Senate, which, according to him, "ignited [his] passion for change." At the forefront of his concerns is Skidmore's "carbon footprint... and environmental sustainability." One step Heidepriem-Baird offered to mitigate this issue was to replace facility bathroom hand towels with hand dryers.
Yell's spoke about his desire to create a union of bands. This union is something he and other band members have already conceptualized and are mobilizing to create.
Conley, meanwhile, stated that the campus, especially Case Center, should be offered as canvases for student aesthetic creation, which will liven up the school.
Lastly Sasson, a veteran of student government, having been active since the sixth grade, promised to achieve what she could by "working within the system." One point she made was to boost the budget for Northwoods and Scribner Houses.
For the first year senator position vied the unopposed Ben Polsky '15. Polsky, who sees Freshmen especially as "Guinea Pigs," promised to "poll classmates about newly implemented policies," to see what worked well.
Eva Frieden '15 is running unopposed for Jonsson Tower vice president. She said that she would organize events for her dorm and pointed out that she had already "implemented on her floor an opinion board."
The last speech of the night was delivered on behalf of unopposed Sean O'Brien '13 for Scribner Village senator. O'Brien says that as senator he would promote more artwork for Scribner's bare walls and to ascertain for the Village "softer toilet paper and block parties."
SGA voting will be open Thursday the 22 from 12 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Election Results:
Voters: 813 in this election
Class of 2015 President:
Soraya Attia
Class of 2015 Social Chair:
Jarred Green
Class of 2015 Treasurer:
Nile Nair
Class of 2015 Vice President:
Noam Yossefy
Do you agree to the following changes to the SGA Constitution?:
Agree
Do you agree with the following changes to the SGA Constitution?:
Agree
First Year Senator:
Ben Polsky
Jonsson Tower Vice President:
Eva Frieden
Junior Class Secretary:
Julia Hutson
Junior Class Social Chair:
Will Wygal
Scribner Village Senator:
Sean O'brien
Senator At Large:
Skylar Sasson
Luke Conley