The two week freshmen class election excitement and anticipation bubbled until the release of results on October 17. This year, many thrilled freshmen are running for the positions of President, VP, Secretary, and Treasurer.The elected Class of 2017 officer team is as follows: Sam Schatmeyer (President), Madison Irene (Vice President), Laura Zu (Secretary), and Sarina Divan (Treasurer).
Speeches were delivered on October 15th, when candidates had the chance to sway their future constituents with well-placed words, a winning smile, and in the case of Timmy Finley, a flip. Interestingly about this year, due to the unprecedented number of 23 students running for office, the speech assembly was forced to be cut short. Never before had candidates given such short, one minute speeches, and the East tradition of asking a mystery question to candidates was forgone for the sake of time.
On the 16th of October, only four out of almost two dozen students were voted into their positions by their Class of 2017 peers. From the number of students interested in serving their class, it is easy to see how much school spirit the Class of 2017 has acquired within its two short months of being Flames.
One candidate, Trisha Pickelhaupt, told us the reason why she decided to run for her position as Vice President. “I really want the opportunity to change East,” she said, “and I think this is the right way to go about it!” When also asked about how this would look on her college transcript, she explained, “Right now, I’m not focused entirely on my college transcript because my main goal is to help East. I’m not running simply for the Vice President title – but for the opportunity to lead many new changes at East and to encourage others to become a part of something great.”
This year, the road to Election Day was a long and bumpy one due to the many promising students that decided to run for class office. Candidates, as in all elected, were not concerned about how class office would look on their burgeoning resumes; their desire to run is fuelled by their wish to support their class and their friends. “I really want the opportunity to change East,” said Pickelhaupt, “and I think this is the right way to go about it!”
Another candidate for Vice President, Edward Shen, stated, “I wanted to give back to [the friends and peers] who gave so much to me.” The elected treasurer Sarina Divan stated during her campaign that she wants to “help make our freshman year fun and to get involved!” Still others wished to use their previous experience in administrative roles to enhance their class. “I’ve been in the secretary for the Chinese Youth Club which I have been involved in for four years now,” said secretary Laura Zu, “and I really enjoy it and know what it takes.”
Though all students that ran for office were enthusiastic about the chance to serve their fellow classmates, the tension throughout the class is also evident. With the campaigning having begun long before the official starting date, you could tell that all freshmen students were pumped for voting day, which approached rather quickly.
English teacher Mr. Huber said, “It takes guts to run for an office and want to make a difference. But remember, no matter who emerges triumphant, students can still make an impact on the school by leading other clubs and serving on the Steering Committee all year long.”
