After examining the candidate pool for this year's Student Assembly elections, freshmen Carlos Osorio and Corby Kelly decided to try their hands at campaigning at the beginning of this term.
Osorio and Kelly are running as write-in candidates for Assembly president and vice president, respectively.
"We have an unconventional, different vision," Kelly said. "We come off as silly guys, we want people to see we are just like everyone else."
With posters citing Economic 1, Government 3 and Government 5 as the whole of their experience, Osorio admitted to having no experience on the Assembly.
"This is really a grassroots campaign," Osorio said. "We didn't know much about the interworkings of politics, but people told us we have the right stuff."
Osorio and Kelly both went to Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and have been roommates for three years and they plan to room together again next year, they said.
"That would guarantee no fighting in the Assembly leadership," Osorio said.
Osorio said he and Kelly want to be "total citizen leaders" who are "not going to play political games."
Kelly said they decided to run after seeing other candidates begin promoting their campaigns.
"We were wondering how they would tackle" issues such as racism on campus "without interaction with the student body," Kelly said.
They said they want to work on increasing communication between the Assembly and the students.
"When you look at the big picture of where we want SA to be, it is student services oriented," Osorio said.
He added they would like to see the Assembly look into social alternatives to the Greek system.
Osorio said he knows members of Greek organizations who wish there were other social options.
"We want SA to pick up where the Programming Board leaves off," he said.
Kelly said the Fall term housing crunch gave them the idea of compiling a handout for all freshmen in the spring with information about off-campus housing directly from people interested in renting out their homes.
He said they also would like the Assembly to continue its efforts to put together a course guide for students.
Other ideas mentioned in their platform are to make Assembly meetings shorter in duration and mandatory for all members.
Osorio said he spoke to members of La Alianza Latina last week and was well-received. He said they have been asked to speak to members of Dartmouth United tomorrow.
Osorio said he and Kelly will attend the candidates' forum and debate tonight at 7 in the basement of Mid-Fayerweather Hall.
He said their posters were mainly for name recognition and now they want to show people they are serious candidates.
