News

Sophomores Valeriya Tsitron and Paul Lee led the race for junior caucus in the Student Union (SU) primaries on Tuesday, May 27, with a total of 97 votes.

Tsitron and Lee came in first, over eight other tickets. Sophomores Masudur Rahman and Rosanna Sobota came in second, with 61 votes. Both will advance to the general elections that will be held on Wednesday, June 4.

Tsitron, who is running for junior caucus president, has been the caucus president for the last two years. Lee, who is running for junior caucus vice president, was his grade’s SING! producer this year.

The two are active members of the Speech and Debate team and of several clubs and publications. “We are both very passionate about school politics and very much involved in the Stuy community,” Tsitron and Lee wrote in an e-mail.

Based on their experience in the SU, Tsitron and Lee said student rights need to be boosted as well as upheld by the SU more efficiently and less defensively. “We have learned to go the extra mile and hear everyone out, not necessarily screaming as soon as something sounds against the students,” Tsitron and Lee said. “For example, the PA [Parents' Association] should be our ally. Instead they’re becoming more or less of an enemy.”

Tsitron and Lee plan to establish better communication between the junior grade and the SU by creating a class of 2010 Web site.

Following a platform of unity, Tsitron and Lee plan to set up a system in which they would meet with a congress of student representatives from each homeroom on a regular basis. These meetings would provide them with a chance to make decisions based on input from the juniors themselves. “We will strive to represent the junior student body by being informed about what they want,” Tsitron and Lee said.

“In efforts towards uniting our grade we will be calling for better class reps and more student input,” Tsitron and Lee said. “We will also have a strong fundraising arm, which will help with the costs of planning many events, such as college trips.”

In addition to expected events, including college trips and junior prom, Tsitron and Lee plan to organize career day, comedy nights and senior-junior sports games. Homeroom representatives would communicate ideas for new events to Tsitron and Lee.

Tsitron and Lee hope that students can play a more active role in their government. “As junior caucus, we pledge ourselves to the junior grade. Our main goal would be to see the unity of our grade expanded under our leadership and get them excited to be the class of 2010,” Tsitron and Lee said.