Volume 67, Issue 4  

Student Government Officials Finally Chosen

by Ben Kessler

Incoming students got their first glimpse of politics at Yeshiva on October 18th, with freshman and sophomore class elections yielding a new batch of student politicians.

The Freshman class opted for Ryan Khordipour, who defeated Evan Zisholtz, for their president.  Khordipour, who was vice-president of Hebrew Academy of Long Branch, his alma matter, for three years, stated that he ran because he enjoys being active, hates wasting time, and loves helping people.  Among other things, he hopes to swiftly implement an “older brother” system, where upper classmen who have gone to Israel and have some experience learning Torah post high school will help guide freshmen who haven’t had the privilege of studying in Israel. 

Joshua Hourizadel, Abraham Narrow-Tilonsky, and David Kulak ran for freshman Vice-President with Abraham emerging victorious and Joshua Israel, who ran unopposed for Secretary-Treasurer, rounded out the freshman leaders.

In the Sophomore class, the playing field was more crowded with four candidates vying for the Presidency.  As it turned out, Alexander Chester was the victor, staving off Michael Kaplan, Amir Sadighpour, and Eli Renov.  Chester explained that he pursued office largely because of his participation in student government at the yeshiva affiliated Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy Yeshiva Univesity High School for Boys, where he discovered that his actions could actually make school more enjoyable for students. 

He brings this realization, along with enthusiasm, to help make a bigger impact for a larger populace.  “I’ve noticed that leaving campus for Shabbas is the ‘in thing’ to do,” said Chester. “During my term, I want to give people reasons to stay.”

Michael Rosman run unopposed for Vice President, while Dov Erdfarb, who ran against Michael Nahimtas, won the position of Secretary/Treasurer.

This year’s elections seemed to be anxiety laden, not only for the candidates, but also for students.  In previous years, including last year, a list of the winning candidates was posted by dinnertime of Election Day; however, this year’s results were not made public until approximately midnight.  Daniel Ackerman, chairman of the Canvassing Committee, maintained that there is no set time that the election results must be posted, but a loose estimate is usually given in advance. But, this year, a situation arose that delayed the results’ posting.  Ackerman would not divulge reasons for the delay situation.

In contrast to last year, voting occurred this year in mid-October, shortly after the return of students from the Sukkos break. Last year, elections were postponed to November because of the attack on the World Trade Center, as it was decided that campaigning in the immediate aftermath of the disaster would be inappropriate. The ad hoc decision left one half of students without class representatives for over two months. This fall, elections came sooner and students were able to select their leaders more promptly.

The Canvassing Committee, the board that oversees election management, follows a strict election protocol.  Before becoming a candidate, each student is informed of the responsibilities of their chosen position and must then submit an application.  The Canvassing Committee then determines whether the student is within good academic standing and ensures that the class standing correlates to the intended office.  Each candidate is then required to obtain the signatures of one third of their class in a petition.  Having done that, candidates can begin focusing on the actual elections.

To ensure integrity, the Canvassing Committee has enacted rigid protocol governing elections.  For example candidates have a spending threshold of $150, so as to not tip the scale in favor of wealthier contenders.  Moreover, all posters have to be approved by the Committee to preclude mudslinging. Unlike last year, the Committee did not require that each poster be stamped with a seal of approval this year.

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