The results are in: freshmen Ryan Kim and Andrew Lee are now President and Vice President, respectively, of the Class of 2015. Sophomores Thoasin Bari and Eddie Zilberbrand are now President and Vice President of the Class of 2014.
Kim and Lee won 60 votes at the Student Union general election on Wednesday, December 2, beating out their opponents, Briana Lui and Maggie Gutmann, by 20 votes.
“From what I’ve seen, heard, and researched about Ryan Kim and Andrew Lee, I believe that they are well-qualified for the job,” freshman Elvin Shoyfer said.
Kim and Lee plan to focus on creating events to be attended exclusively by freshmen, such as a freshman Open Mic and freshman sports tournaments. They also want to have a freshman spirit week, which would include different dress days, such as Pajama Day or Middle School Shirt Day. In addition, they hope to organize a freshman dance.
“We want freshmen to be more involved,” Kim said.
Though the two are new to Stuyvesant, they have some experience with student government, as they were the 8th grade President and Vice President at their middle school. In addition, Kim was the secretary in 7th grade. While in middle school, they organized dances, a spirit week, and other events.
The two aim to make the transition into Stuy more enjoyable. “We can’t promise people everything, but we want to do the best we can in order for people to enjoy their year,” Kim said.
Bari and Zilberbrand received 75 votes, two less than candidates David Cahn and Jason Duong, but Cahn and Duong were disqualified for having three posters up on election day, and for placing these posters on walls, not bulletin boards.
“Despite the scandal, I think that this year’s President and Vice President will give us a great sophomore year,” sophomore Michael Sugarman said.
Now that Bari and Zilberbrand are in office, they plan to start the application process for SING! producers and coordinators by the end of this week. They are also hoping to have several winter fundraisers to help cover the costs of SING! and a possible sophomore dance. To raise even more money, they plan on selling Class of 2014 apparel.
Soph-frosh SING! is of considerable importance to Bari and Zilberbrand, and they plan to be involved in more than just the financial aspects of the show. “We’re going to keep a tighter run [on SING!],” Zilberbrand said. “Me and Thoasin can be part of every single step.”
The newly elected sophomores are planning sophomore outings, such as a sophomore field day, at which 10 teams of 10 would compete in various sports tournaments. Students not participating directly would watch the games, which would be held in Battery Park.
“Overall, I think the school just wants more school spirit, so that’s what we’re aiming for this year,” Bari said.
Bari and Zilberbrand have also devised an innovative “buddy program” that would pair up sophomores and freshmen. The program would prepare sophomores interested in being Big Sibs for the responsibilities involved, while the more shy freshmen would have access to a “less intimidating” older student, Zilberbrand said. A group of five freshmen would be assigned to a sophomore, whom they could contact and set up meetings with if they needed advice.
“I voted for Thoasin and Eddie because they are outstanding students, two of the nicest people I know, and always help out others. They were clearly the best choice for sophomore caucus,” sophomore
Robert Melamed said.
Though some students are enthusiastic about the new SU members, others were concerned by the low turnout on election day. Freshman Caroline Kim said, “More people would have voted if they knew the election was being held. Most people didn’t even know there was an election, and, as many know, one vote can change the results.”