Reaching out to Greeks and unaffiliated students alike with a platform and a personal touch that appealed to voters across the political spectrum, Janos Marton '04 waged a successful campaign that last week carried him past his rivals in the race for student body president.
Defying a pre-election poll that placed him slightly behind front-runner Michael Perry '03, Marton provided what his campaign manager and Student Assembly member Steve Zyck '04 termed "a tinge of curiosity" to students interested in the potential of the Assembly.
Marton, one of few reform candidates to succeed in recent elections, is a member of both Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity and Panarchy undergraduate society, and said his focus on defending the Greek system played a major role in winning support.
"Since the [Student Life Initiative] has come out, no one has run on a pro-Greek platform," Marton said.
Several students who spoke to The Dartmouth said Marton's position on the Greeks was a decisive factor in swaying their votes.
"One of the main things I liked was his pro-Greek stance," Graham Rasmussen '05 said. "I don't think anyone else really made that a part of their main pitch."
In an earlier conversation, Marton surmised that a low response rate among Greek-affiliated students to The Dartmouth's pre-election poll might have masked strong support from coed, fraternity and sorority organizations.
Other students said they were attracted by Marton's fresh approach to student government, which they said promised greater achievements for the Assembly than have been attained in recent years.
"I liked the fact that he was hoping to present some things that hadn't been tried over and over again," Hannah Fries '04 said.
Among Marton's proposed ideas during the campaign were plans for revamping the Assembly's committee system and addressing issues of financial aid and work-study wages.
Yan Somoza '04 praised Marton for having "the most original ideas" of all the candidates. "He wasn't just a puppet of the status quo," he said.
Somoza admitted his vote had also been influenced by his friendship with Marton, who made an effort to introduce himself to students throughout his campaign.
"It was about meeting as many people as possible as the weeks went along," Marton said, adding that all five candidates in the race "offered something interesting" to stimulate student interest in the elections.
Some more tangible elements of Marton's campaign also played a role in winning votes.
"I supported him because of the posters," Chris Lally '03 said. Marton's unorthodox election posters -- which were designed by Zyck -- discarded lengthy platform statements in favor of photographs of Marton beside the enigmatic slogan, "It's hard to stop a moving train."
As for the runner-up in the election, Michael Perry '03, some students complained that he and other candidates were out of touch with many students.
"The Student Assembly is elitist and not really representative of the student body," said Kai Wong '02, who voted for Eric Bussey '01. "I got the sense that Perry and [presidential candidate Tara Maller '03] were using the organization as just another opportunity for leadership positions."
Despite Marton's apparent broad appeal, the election was the closest in seven years, with Marton garnering 38 percent of the vote to Perry's 32 percent.
However, candidates Karim Mohsen '03 and Bussey polled 13.1 percent and 3.8 percent respectively, with the result that the trio of reform candidates -- Marton, Mohsen and Bussey -- captured a majority of the votes cast.
The Class of 2005 had the largest turnout, with 706 freshmen voting, closely followed by the Class of 2003 with 666 votes cast. The Class of 2004 cast 548 votes, while only 400 seniors participated in the elections.
The total turnout of 2,331 was the second highest on record, a fact that Marton said was a direct result of student interest in new ideas.
"I think it was an exciting campaign, and it had a lot of energy and momentum behind it," Marton said. "People who didn't usually care about the issues looked to a new, more idealistic leadership for change."
