After all the votes were counted in a hotly contested and controversial election, Gennadi Gellman became the first ever Associate Vice President of the Yeshiva College Student Council. The vice presidential position, which opened with incumbent Mikey Butler's graduation this past January, was won by Gellman in a special run-off election held last Thursday, February 14th.

The graduation of Butler from Yeshiva left the Council with the difficult predicament of electing a new vice president and integrating him midyear. The canvassing committee, chaired by Jonathan Mantell, wasted very little in time calling for new elections.

Although many students feel that the process should have begun earlier in January or even last semester, the committee waited an additional week at the beginning of the spring semester to have its meeting to discuss the vacancy on the Council. According to members, some on the committee wanted to wait the additional days until Yeshiva College Student Council President Lou Shapp returned from his vacation and could be present at the committee discussion.

Only two serious candidates arose for the position: Gellman and Yeshiva College senior Yoel Oz. Performing efficiently, the canvassing committee made Gellman's victory public by late evening on election day. Gellman was not shy about setting lofty goals for his tenure. He says that he is looking to "increase interaction with Stern, set up a Big Brother program," and overall, "set up various new chesed activities."

However, Gellman does not stand alone on the Vice Presidential podium. After his commencement from Yeshiva, some claim that Butler expressed a wish to retain his Vice Presidential role until the end of the spring semester. Suffering from cystic fibrosis, and being subjected to frequent hospitalizations, the most recent of which being a successful bilateral lung transplant, Butler battled, often conducting council meetings via telephone.

Left with a dilemma, the Canvassing Committee chose to uniquely and controversially interpret the Yeshiva College Student Council Constitution's statement on the situation. The constitution, which can be found in the back of any copy of the Guide for the Perplexed, states that when the vice president can no longer perform his duties, in this case because of ineligibility (council members must be full-time students at Yeshiva), a new election is to be held, in short time, to fill the vacancy.

Faced with this clause, the committee found that they could claim that the constitution does not specifically state what position should be run in the election, rather, it simply orders that a new contest be conducted. Although the same reasoning could have been used to call an election for the entire board, while creating as many new positions as desired, the committee felt that the specific circumstances warranted the unprecedented interpretation.

Mantel justified the committee's decision, explaining that they "felt [they] should follow the precedent set by University President Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, and differentiate the treatment of Mikey Butler from other students. We pored over the constitution, deliberated for quite some time, and discussed many different options."

In the end, no true consensus was found within the committee, but a closed door vote yielded a majority decision to allow Butler to retain the title of Vice President, and concurrently elect an Associate Vice President who would theoretically possess all of the powers and duties enumerated in the constitution for the vice president.

The quandary then became how the Council should integrate the two positions. Mantel admitted that such intricacies have made him "question the wisdom of the move [to keep Butler aboard]."

Student Council President Lou Shapp was more confident as he addressed the complexity, "whoever gets elected will take care of the responsibilities of the Vice President on campus - he will be in charge of clubs, events, and will be a point man for students to meet with." Butler meanwhile, "will be available to assist us in any way he possibly can."

Many dispute Shapp's enthusiasm, pointing to a prior lack of clear communication between this year's council and club heads, and other student leaders. One elected official added that "the decision should have been reviewed by the Student Court" ( a constitutionally mandated body that is charged with adjudicating disputes relevant to the student body). Despite this assertion, and the constitutional provision for such a body to be nominated by the Student Council President, no such court has existed this year.

Another prevalent student complaint was the poor publicity surrounding the election itself. As a result of the short time between the announcement of the election and the voting date, some students noted that they had little opportunity to familiarize themselves with the candidates. The elections were announced eight days in advance, and campaigning began four days before the polls opened. Due to the short time, two potential candidates were unable to secure enough signatures to gain entry into the race. Furthermore, the two final candidates did little advertising and campaigning. Before winning the election, Gellman admitted that "it's been very tough to get myself known within Yeshiva."

As Yeshiva College junior Fred Schottenstein complained, "I had no idea who was running, let alone who I really should have voted for. For someone who tries to take this seriously, it was a very frustrating process."

Other students pointed to a lack of publicity surrounding the elections themselves. "Sure there was a ymail a short time prior to the election," said one Yeshiva College Junior, upon exiting the lounge, "but unless you happened into Morg today, you wouldn't have known a thing was going on."

Such sentiment was also reflected in low voter turnout. One canvassing committee member reported that less people voted for this schoolwide position than did in the election for class board members earlier this year. Furthermore, he revealed, midway through the polling, there were less than fifty votes cast.

Despite the general lack of interest in the elections, many students chose instead to focus on Butler's health. Butler's condition has been stable following the transplant this weekend, and his family and friends are hoping for a full recovery.

Yeshiva students, many of whom know Butler only by reputation and have only recently learned more about him, have united in their prayers for a continued improvement in his situation and his continued ability to remain involved in the Council. Yeshiva College sophomore Dovie Gordon expressed thoughts that are shared by the entire student body stating, "I hope that Mikey will be back to visit Yeshiva University very soon so that I can get a chance to talk to the guy. It sounds like he has quite an amazing story".

Canvassing committee members admitted to keeping one eye on Butler's precarious condition throughout the electoral process, with Mantell beginning his statement to The Commentator by noting that at the moment "all of our thoughts and t'fillos are with Mikey."