Voting is now underway for freshmen class representatives to the Undergraduate Council of Students - the first foray into the politics of the University's student government for the class of 2011.
Many first-years seemed generally disinterested as campaigning began Friday evening, but the 17 candidates vying for five seats on the council worked full-throttle throughout the weekend to rouse interest in the election and garner votes from their peers.
The freshmen candidates are running on a variety of platforms, all outlined on a dedicated MyCourses Web site managed by UCS. Some of the more popular platforms include Banner reform, renovations to and maintenance of freshmen dorms and changes to the meal plans and dining halls.
Ideas to improve campus dining halls include extending their hours, revamping menus and changing the meal plans. Mike MacCombie '11, a UCS hopeful from Cleveland who lives in Everett House, has proposed a new "hybrid meal plan" that combines the on- and off-campus meal plans.
"It would use the off-campus meal plan and include some on-campus meals," MacCombie told The Herald. "It would have some meal credits or something in partnership with some downtown places."
Keisuke Yanagawa '11, who lives in Keeney Quadrangle, said if elected, he aims to increase interaction among minority student groups at Brown. "Brown is known for its diversity, but I feel there are too many groups that kind of segregate each other," he said.
Not all the candidates have specific goals - instead, they view the council as a powerful tool to effect change and represent their peers.
Jerry Cedrone '11 sees UCS as an opportunity to get involved in campus life. "One of my goals in coming here was to get really involved in the campus community and in student life at Brown and in the community in general," Cedrone said. "I think this is one of the best ways and really the first opportunity to get involved in what's going on here in campus."
"I want to be on UCS just so I can improve Brown in some little way," said Arthur Matuszewski '11, a New York City native living in Emery Hall. "It's such an amazing place to study, and the real wealth of Brown is its student capital. I'm just excited to be around so many people, and I feel like I have to do something to contribute to that awesomeness."
Everett resident Ben Xiong '11, however, feels the council is not yet the powerful tool that it could be. His main platform, he said, is to "increase UCS' responsiveness to student concerns. All the upperclassmen I've talked to - almost to a person - say that UCS is sort of a body that does nothing ... a body that's useless, almost. ... I want it so the freshman class this year will never be like that."
Many candidates told The Herald that they intend to participate in UCS as an associate member if they don't get elected as class representatives. To become an associate member, a student needs to collect 50 signatures and attend two council meetings. Associate members can attend all meetings and sit on committees, but they have no voting power. Often, associate members are voted by other council members to replace elected members who resign or go abroad.
Candidates have used various methods to campaign, ranging from canvassing door-to-door in first-year dorms to creating Facebook groups to promote themselves. One candidate - Ryan Lester '11 - walked around dorms breaking into song with his guitar while he greeted his peers.
UCS has limited the candidates to 100 "publicity points" and a $40 budget for campaigning purposes. Candidates can advertise only through approved methods, including posters, Web sites, Facebook groups and dining hall table slips. Each form of advertising costs a certain number of publicity points, and candidates cannot exceed their allocated amount of publicity points or financial budget. All campaign items must be approved by the council, and failure to adhere to these rules can result in immediate disqualification.
Posters have perhaps been the most popular form of advertising for candidates. Some posters advertise a candidate's platform, while others feature pictures or clever slogans.
Stacey Park '11 - the only female running in the election - has posters bearing the distinctive slogan "U.C.Stacey 4 U.C.S.trogen. The only girl running for the job."
Andy Furnas '11 coined the slogan, "If you are ready to turn up the heat on issues you care about, vote Furnas."
Freshmen who are voting indicated varied responses about what form of campaigning has been most effective.
Eric Sporkin '11 said meeting and getting to know candidates influenced him the most. "I think the most effective campaigning is hanging out with them in social scenes," he said. "I feel like there's no way to find out how to vote other than just meeting the person."
Heidi Jiang '11 said the posters have influenced her vote the most. But Andrew Loftus '11 told The Herald, "The posters really don't sway me very much."
Seventeen first-years are vying for the five positions for class of 2011 representatives. The other candidates are Alex Morse '11, Scotty Carroll '11, Justin Coles '11, Graham Rogers '11, Nick Jessee '11, Matt Lawrence '11, Haydar Taygun '11, Harris Li '11 and Matthew Balatbat '11. Each member of the class of 2011 can vote for five candidates.
Voting on MyCourses began Sunday evening and concludes Tuesday at 5 p.m.
