UA prepares to elect a leader

The new Undergraduate Assembly will elect its 2001-2002 executive board members during a transition meeting tonight at 8 p.m. in Houston Hall's Ben Franklin Room, with three incumbent members tugging over the coveted chairperson position. UA members will vote to fill the executive positions of chairperson, vice chairperson, secretary, treasurer and University Council representative during the typically lengthy meeting, which has stretched to six hours each of the past two years. Three candidates have declared their intent to run for UA chairperson -- UA member and current Technology Committee Chairman Eric Chen, current UA Secretary Dana Hork and current UA Treasurer Michael Krouse. Krouse, a Wharton and Engineering junior, and Hork, a College junior, ran for chairperson last year as well. Both lost to College senior Michael Bassik, the outgoing UA chairman. Chen ran for UA secretary last year, ultimately losing the position to Hork. While both Krouse and Hork have one year of experience on the UA executive board, Hork is the only candidate who will be serving on the UA for a fourth year consecutive year. During his sophomore year, Krouse served as vice chairman of the student life committee. He also successfully persuaded the University to accept a summer waiver earning system so that students on financial aid could accept unpaid internships without receiving financial penalty in their aid package. He has also served as the United Minorities Council liaison and as head delegate to the Ivy Council. This year, he served as UA treasurer and budget committee chairman. Hork chaired the communications committee her sophomore year, and worked to open up listserv access to all administrators and student leaders on campus. During her stint leading the communications committee, she also worked on other initiatives to improve communications from the UA using various publications. Chen, who has served on the UA for two years thus far, has had no experience on the UA executive board. However, he currently serves as the chairman of the technology committee. Outside the UA, the Engineering junior has been involved in the Asian Pacific Student Coalition. Chen has also served as a manager at Harnwell College House, and is currently working as a residential adviser. Some UA members said that they remain undecided about who to vote for. "I'm going to wait for the speeches tomorrow," one member said. "I'll probably go with my leanings," another member added. "But I'm not positive." However, others were more decisive. "As of now, [I'm voting for] Mike Krouse," another UA member said, citing Krouse's leadership skills as a deciding factor. "I want someone that's going to be strong and in control." This year, of the three candidates running for chairperson, only Hork, a member of Sigma Delta Tau, is Greek. The past four UA chairmen have all been members of the Greek system. Tomorrow night, UA members will also vote to fill other positions on the UA executive board. College junior Jed Gross, College freshman Jason Levy and Engineering junior David Greene have all tossed their hats in the ring for vice chairman. College freshman Kirsten Grubbs, College junior Carrie Zaslow and Wharton junior James Ku have expressed their intent to run for secretary. College sophomores Seth Schreiberg and Aaron Short will compete for the position of treasurer. No one has yet publicized a desire to run for University Council steering representative. The number of people competing for these positions will fluctuate tomorrow night, however, as candidates not elected to one position can "drop down" and run for the next position in the UA hierarchy. For instance, if one candidate gets eliminated in the first round of the race for chairperson, he or she is free to subsequently run for vice chairperson.