YCSC Sophomore and Freshman Elections Held

On September 17, the Yeshiva College Student Council elections for the sophomore and freshman classes were held. Voting took place in the lobby of the Rubin Residence Hall between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM, and ran smoothly without any noticeable hitches. The newly elected officials are:

Sophomore Class:

President: Brian Glass

Vice President: Eric Distenfeld

Secretary-Treasurer: Aryeh Goldberg

Freshman Class:

President: Eric Gutmam

Vice President: Nathan Siegel

Secretary-Treasurer: Natanel Barookhian

The Canvassing Committee, an independently operated YCSC organization, ran the elections. Their duties included the monitoring of candidates and campaigns to ensure that all election rules were adhered to, the arduous task of checking the official class standings of all eligible voters, as well as the tallying of ballots. When reached for comment, Moishe Singer, Assistant Chairman of the Canvassing Committee, said, "All the candidates ran a very clean campaign and we thank them for that."

In most undergraduate schools it is only the freshman elections that are held at the beginning of the fall semester. The sophomore class elections are held at the end of the spring semester along with the junior and senior class elections. However, in YU, due to the fact that the majority of students spend their freshman year in Israel, the sophomore elections are postponed until the majority of the class arrives on campus. The drawback to this is that incoming officials do not assume their duties until relatively late. Nonetheless, YCSC President Dror Barber remains confident that, although they are off to a late start, "I'm sure that the incoming officials will make the best of it and work with us to make this a very productive year."

This optimism and open-mindedness extends to the candidates as well. Sophomore class president, Brian Glass said, "I'd like to wish everyone a successful year and that I, as well as Eric and Aryeh, are open to any suggestions that one may have as to better the college experience of any sophomore here at Yeshiva University." Freshman class president Eric Gutman also remained enthusiastic about the situation.

Voter turnout for this election was as expected with about a 50% turnout. The Canvassing Committee, headed by Chairman Michael Ausubel, will remain inactive until the end of the spring semester when the junior and senior elections will be held. YCSC officials continue to encourage all to take part in the student bodys governing organization.