Minutes after midnight this morning, juniors Brandon del Pozo's and Jim Rich's campaign staff members were busy stapling posters up on public bulletin boards.
Midnight marked the official kickoff of the 1995 races for Student Assembly president and vice president. The candidates can campaign from now until the election on April 11.
Phil Ferrera '96, del Pozo and Rich are contending for the presidency while Aleph Henestrosa '96, Kelii Opulauoho '96, Scott Rowekamp '97 and Bill Tovell '96 are seeking the vice presidency.
In Thayer Dining Hall early this morning, Conservative Union At Dartmouth President Bill Hall '96 put up three different del Pozo posters, one featuring a photograph of del Pozo with his German shepherd.
Brimming with activity, Thayer also was the site of Rich's campaign meeting. From Thayer's lobby, he sent his supporters out to put up posters bearing a photograph of him and an outline of his platform.
Meanwhile, Ferrera, Opulauoho and Assembly President Rukmini Sichitiu '95 examined del Pozo's and Rich's posters. Ferrera said he planned to put up signs later today in response to the other candidates' signs.
Brandon del Pozo
"Practical ideas, responsible leadership," del Pozo's campaign slogan, clearly defines what he offers the student body, he said.
He said his platform addresses a number of campus issues, including solving the annual housing problem, analyzing problems associated with the D-plan, publicizing how the College appropriates funds and establishing a 24-hour crisis hotline.
"I don't want my campaign to just be show," del Pozo said. "I want my campaign to be mostly substance."
Del Pozo said he has authored a Hypercard stack describing his campaign and has included all pertinent information about his platform on the stack.
Phil Ferrera
"I'm focusing on three issues," Ferrera said. "Community, equity for women's resources and student culture."
He said he hopes to expand services for students by supporting more non-alcohol social activities, longer hours for the Hopkins Center for the Performing Arts and Baker Library, 24-hour use of the Collis Student Center and dining services.
Ferrera said he wants students to have input on the appointment of the College's Trustees and added the College should maintain need-blind admissions. He said he wants the Assembly to work with and support all groups on campus, he said.
Last night, Ferrera said Sichitiu is not his campaign manager. But last Sunday, Sichitiu told The Dartmouth she was running his campaign.
Jim Rich
"The centerpiece of my platform is to transform the Assembly into a government that's more representative, responsive, effective and accountable," Rich said.
Concerned that the Assembly's credibility with students and administrators has vanished, Rich said he wants to reform the Assembly from within and make it more representative of the students.
Rich said he will try to prevent the implementation of freshman dormitories as proposed by the Committee on the First-Year Experience, keep need-blind admissions, restructure the housing lottery system and encourage the Trustees to make student life a priority.
Vice-Presidential Candidates
Vice-presidential candidates also kicked off their campaigns this morning.
"I'm writing a platform of fairly radical and deep changes in the structure of the Assembly," Henestrosa said. "The Assembly lacks legitimacy because the students don't respect it and the administration doesn't care about it."
He said he wants to coordinate a meeting between the Assembly and administrators to rewrite the Assembly's constitution to include guarantees that the administration will acknowledge the Assembly's decisions.
Opulauoho, Ferrera's running mate, said about his campaign, "Ultimately, responsible government is my goal."
Minority issues, women's equity on campus and provisions for more social space for students are among his concerns, he said.
Campaigning for reform, Rowekamp said his slogan is, "Revamp with Rowekamp." He said he supports the External Review Committee, which the Assembly elected last term to propose changes to the Assembly's structure, and would implement its suggestions.
He said as vice president, he would work to make the Assembly more responsible financially, block the establishment of freshman dormitories, support a freshman spring rush, and initiate his idea of a "mobile Assembly," where each member of the Assembly's executive committee would represent one residence cluster's interests.
Tovell said, "I don't want to stand up and preach; I'd rather listen." He said he wants to run on his abilities as leader and his willingness to work for Dartmouth students.
He said he does not want to focus on certain issues because voters should realize the next vice president will have to face a variety of problems.
"The student who is going to vote for me is the student who has been fed up with the way the Assembly has been for the last few years," he added.
