Looking to replace forceful personality Janos Marton '04 as student body president are four Student Assembly veterans: Jim Baehr '05, Ralph Davies '05, Julia Hildreth '05 and Dave Wolkoff '05.
Mike Valmonte '06 may also enter the race as a darkhorse candidate, sources said.
Although campaigning does not officially begin until this Monday, the four juniors are already gearing up for the May 4 and 5 Assembly presidential election.
"I've put a lot of energy into developing grassroots support because I want to represent every part of this campus, not just one group," Baehr said of his pre-campaign efforts.
Davies, meanwhile, informally gathered a group of supporters at Phi Delta Alpha fraternity Monday night to prepare for the campaign.
"I got a lot of my campaign supporters together and got people really excited," Davies said. "That's the goal: Get my supporters as excited as possible."
"I'm running because there's nothing at Dartmouth that I'm more committed to, more passionate about and more determined to improve than Student Assembly. I have the experience and the creativity to make a good president, and I hope I've demonstrated that to the student body over the past three years of my involvement," Hildreth added.
Wolkoff, who was an Assembly member his freshman and sophomore years but did not participate this year, said he would "like to give a solid direction" to the Assembly, which he called "unorganized" and "an insular organization that's out of touch."
As of Thursday, rounding out the vice presidential ticket are Karan Danthi '07, Todd Rabkin Golden '06 and Dave Zubricki '07.
Danthi, whose campaign slogan is "Take Back Dartmouth," said he is running because the Assembly "has become a club of sorts. It's not an influential organization anymore that can enact change." In order to do so, Danthi said he advocates increased participation in the Assembly and building relations with alumni.
Rabkin Golden, currently the president's assistant, said that lack of communication with the student body is one of the Assembly's problems.
"I'm passionate about creating change and enabling students to realize that their ideas and their concerns about campus can be accomplished," Rabkin Golden said. "Most people don't really know what [the Assembly] is or what we stand for."
President of the Class of 2007, Zubricki echoed the sentiments of Rabkin Golden, saying he wants to get more students involved in the Assembly.
"I want to reach out. Students need to get more involved in student government, and administrators need to be more informed of student opinion," Zubricki said.
Campaigning officially begins April 19. This year, candidates running for student body president and vice president who spend beyond $35 on their campaigns may be reimbursed for additional spending up to $125, the campaign spending cap. This effort to disperse money among the candidates is a result of an Assembly-sponsored proposal to subsidize the cost of campus elections.
The candidates' speech night, which Janos Marton '04 and Stephanie Long '04 will co-moderate, is scheduled for April 29 from 7 to 10 p.m. in Collis Common Ground.
Students are also running for the Committee on Standards, the Organizational Adjudication Committee, Class of 2005 and 2007 president and vice president, class representatives to the Assembly and the Green Key Society.
