Representatives of the Class of 2004 last night elected Frederica Ghesquiere and David Anderson as president and vice president of the 2004 Class Council, respectively.
After the election, Ghesquiere said she was "mildly overwhelmed" and was inspired by the other candidates who spoke out against the controversial Student Life Initiative.
"I'm definitely inspired to do the absolute best job that I can." Gherquiere said. "I'd definitely like to read over [the SLI] and find out more about it," she said.
After a pool of seven students running for president was narrowed down to two, Ghesquiere won the title after a run-off against Michael Newton.
Possibly the biggest surprise of the evening was the election of Anderson -- who joined the race for vice president at the last minute -- in a run-off against Kevin Younai.
"I really didn't think I had a chance," Anderson said. Class Council rules prevented Anderson from making a speech to the crowd because he entered the race as a write-in.
In an attempt to circumvent this limitation, Anderson -- sporting a silver leopard-print shirt -- presented a series of large cardboard signs to express his enthusiasm, the last of which read, "You complete me," a catch-phrase from the popular film Jerry Maguire.
Students from the Class of 2004 elected Ryan Bennett as council treasurer. Caryn Karo beat Johanna Thomas for the position of council secretary.
During the meeting, candidates were each allotted two minutes for speeches, with presidential hopefuls each getting an extra minute to speak.
Dean of First-Year Students Gail Zimmerman expressed her confidence in the Class of 2004.
"What I'm hearing ... is that everybody's excited about your class," she said to the students at the evening's beginning. Zimmerman said she believes that the council has potential.
"What remains to be seen," she said, "is what they'll do with that potential."
Dana Polanichka '01, a First- Year Office intern who helped organize the election, also said she is optimistic about the council.
"I'm so psyched," she said. "[The officers] all bring a lot of enthusiasm and experience. They really care about the school and their class."
While only 77 students submitted votes for the elections, Polanchika said she was not concerned that the Class of 2004 was particularly apathetic towards student government.
She noted that the low turnout could have been due to the limitation that only freshmen who attended the first two council meetings and previously elected dorm representatives were eligible to vote.
According to Ghesquiere, last night's victors will meet on Friday to discuss some of the goals for future council meetings. The officers will make their official debut when the council reconvenes next Wednesday.
