Frode Eilertsen '99, a 23-year-old from Norway, was elected president of the Class of 1999 on the second ballot by the Freshman Council last night.
The council also elected Rex Morey '99 of Nashua to be its vice president.
In addition, David Sussman '99 was elected secretary and Andy Cohen '99 was elected treasurer of the Council.
Eilertsen, a transfer student from the University of Oslo in Norway, defeated five other candidates for the presidency: Jasmine Elwick '99, Scott Jacobs '99, Dhruv Prasad '99, Damali Rhett '99 and Robert Tichio '99.
Immediately after the election, Eilertsen said it was a "great honor" to be elected president of the freshman class.
"I'm very excited, but it's also a real challenge," he said. "There's a lot of work ahead."
Eilertsen said as president of the council, he is anxious to lead the Class of 1999 in the establishment of some new traditions.
The first tradition is a "pre-party" the class is organizing before the Homecoming football game against Colgate University this Saturday, Eilertsen said.
"We're going to try to have the whole class gather at the Bema," Eilertsen said. The party will include a barbecue and will also serve as a "pep rally" for the Class of 1999, he said.
Eilertsen said the freshman class is also planning an organized rush of Memorial Field after Saturday's game.
"Rushing the field," the practice of the freshman class running onto the field during half-time of home football games was outlawed by the Committee on Standards in 1986, but Eilertsen said the Class of 1999 has received approval from the administration for the organized rush.
"It's not a class thing when it's only 10 people," Eilertsen said, alluding to the small number of people who have defied College policy and rushed the field in the past few years.
The organized rush will allow the Class of 1999 to "do something as a class," Eilertsen said.
The top three vote-getters -- Eilertsen, Jacobs and Prasad -- were separated by a total of only four votes after the first ballot, so the council agreed to have a second ballot including only these three candidates. Eilertsen won a majority on the second ballot.
Each of the candidates for office was given the opportunity to give a two-minute speech prior to the election.
In his speech, Eilertsen affirmed his "enthusiasm, dedication, idealism and hard work" for the College and for the Class of 1999.
Sara Clark '97, the student intern in the Freshman Office, presided over the elections.
This was the third meeting of the council, which is made up of 45 members elected from their residence halls, according to Clark.
She estimated that an additional 20 freshmen are in the process of gaining council membership by attending three meetings.
