Despite delays in the formation of the Elections Planning and Advisory Committee, several candidates for Student Body President have already begun to lay plans for this May's contest.
Travis Green '08, Carlos Mejia '08, Nova Robinson '08 and Jaromy Siporen '08 all confirmed their intentions to pursue the role of Student Body President. Molly Bode '09 and Leslie Shribman '08 each said they are considering a run for the position, though they have yet to make concrete decisions about their candidacies. Robinson is taking a leave of absence from The Dartmouth Senior Staff to pursue the presidency.
Current Student Body Vice President Jacqueline Loeb '08 said that she has decided not to enter the race.
"I feel like I have spent a good chunk of my time at Dartmouth devoted to my extracurricular activities, specifically student government - and, this is what I wanted to do. But, often I felt like I was running around like a chicken without a head," Loeb said in a statement to The Dartmouth. "I know that when I reflect on my university experience, it is the friendships I have made that will create lasting memories. It would be a huge honour and an incredible opportunity to be SA President, but it is not how I want to spend my senior year."
In order to be listed on the ballot for Student Body President, students must submit petitions to the Elections Planning and Advisory Committee by Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. These petitions, which require one hundred student signatures, will then undergo review by EPAC to ensure that each candidate is in good standing with the College.
Last year, current Student Body President Tim Andreadis '07 won the election with write-in votes, as he was not listed on the ballot.
Official campaigning will begin on April 27 and elections will be held on May 7 and 8. This puts the election schedule behind the traditional time frame by about a week.
EPAC Chair Kevin Hudak '07 - a member of The Dartmouth Staff - attributed the delay to "a few transition problems." Hudak said he does not believe the late start will cause any problems in this year's contest.
"We're on basically the same timeline that was used last year," Hudak said.
EPAC has yet to meet to conduct its annual review of campaign rules, a setback Hudak attributed to the lack of an Assembly representative to the committee and scheduling conflicts.
In addition, the Green Key Society, which traditionally appoints a member to EPAC, will be unable to add a member this year.
Hudak said that he hoped to finalize EPAC's membership and release the updated election rules on Tuesday, the same day petitions are due - a release date similar to that used last year,
"The group itself is going to be definitely in place way before the campaigning begins at the end of next week," Hudak said.
Though the committee has yet to perform its evaluation, Hudak predicted that EPAC would make few changes to election rules this year. Hudak did note, however, that the committee is likely to put a strong emphasis on financial regulation.
"We're definitely going to be focusing this year on making sure that the campaign finance system is strictly adhered to," Hudak said. "We want to make sure that there are no financial obstacles to running, and that everyone, no matter how much personal wealth they may have, is really sticking to these rules."
Several candidates have already contacted Andreadis, hoping to gain an understanding of the Assembly's progress this year and for advice.
Andreadis said that he anticipates a strong group of candidates come Tuesday's final decisions.
"From what I've heard it sounds like there's a good slate of people who are planning to run," he said. "But it's definitely a little early to predict how things are going to go."
