The student body narrowed the field of presidential candidates from 20 to 12 in the first of three preliminary elections for Student Council President. Morgan Abraham ’06, John Badman ’06, Jeff Bakkensen ’06, Claire Collery ’06, Brendan de Brun ’06, Rosie duPont ’06, Paul Engelhardt ’06, Simon Keyes ’06, Justin Lee ’06, Fahad Missmar ’06, Scott Morgan ’06, Ali Siddiqi ’06 will proceed to the second round of elections. The number of candidates will be cut from 12 down to six and then to three over the next two weeks. The Student Council President for the 2005-2006 school year will be chosen on April 4. Current Student Council President Daniel Adler said that the presidential campaign is going “very smoothly,” and that the candidates are doing a “very solid job of campaigning.” Collery said, “In terms of the way the elections have gone so far, I feel like things have been pretty friendly. There hasn’t been a lot of slandering, and except for some rumors about posters being torn down, there have been good feelings between all candidates.” Adler pointed out that the preliminaries were held on a Tuesday, which put less pressure on the candidates to pull a big stunt during Wednesday’s All-School Meeting in a last attempt to sway voters. Adler also said that the elections “are much more in check this year,” as spending is being monitored closely. Many students objected to the bevy of balloons, pens, and other items that last year’s presidential candidates distributed to the student body in an effort to procure votes. “I think excessive spending for a presidential campaign should be curbed. It’s not fair for people who spend more money to have an advantage,” said duPont. Missmar said, “Last year,[too much spending] was a huge distraction from the focus of the election.” Though no cap has been set to limit presidential candidates’ spending, candidates have been asked to turn in all records of spending during the course of their campaigns. Student Council hopes that this will curb spending. Collery said, “I don’t think that the spending has been out of control this year. There have been a few exceptions but things have really been toned down from last year.” Candidates are still formulating their ideas, talking to underclassmen, making posters, and developing other ways to get their names and ideas heard, and solicit as many votes as possible. duPont said, “Kids should be allowed to be creative in their campaigning process.” Student Council is working very efficiently to keep the elections running smoothly. The Council is trying to release information as quickly as possible, as well as keep a close eye on all election proceedings. Adler’s advice to the candidates is to “get out and meet people.” He also emphasized the importance of candidates establishing a broadly-based platform and developing a clear plan for accomplishing their objectives. In addition to the Student Council’s efforts to make the campaign process as easy as possible, it is also trying to create new ways to promote awareness of the candidates and the issues they champion. The platforms are posted both on the George Washington Hall bulletin board, as well as on the Student Council’s website (www.pastudentgov.org). Also, Adler and Student Council Vice President Morissa Sobleson ’05 hope to host a debate with the final six candidates on their WPAA radio show next Wednesday evening from 10-11 p.m. Adler’s advice to the candidates: “If you have an idea, have a plan and try to get ball rolling before the election.”
