The Class of 2005 is entering the record books here at Penn.
In September, the group was the most selective class to enter Penn, with one of the highest matriculation rates in recent memory.
And as of last night, members of the Class of 2005 also became the most motivated class to run for student government, with 70 freshmen vying for positions.
The biggest candidate pool to date met last night for their final preparatory meeting before the October elections. Forty-two are running for the eight positions on the Undergraduate Assembly, with the rest hoping for Class Board seats. Many of the students are also shooting for slots on both the UA and their class boards.
In the past, freshman elections have drawn pools of 35 to 40 candidates -- about half the number of this year's hopefuls.
Last night marked the final chance for freshmen to check their personal information as it will appear during the election and to proofread their 100-word candidate statements.
And for many, last night was a chance to scope out the competition.
"It was really the first time you saw everyone who is running in one room," College freshman Samantha Cooperman said. "Everyone looked very excited and a little nervous."
But seeing the competition was no big deal for Cooperman, who was running unopposed and has already secured her position as college representative. Two other positions, class secretary and Nursing representative, have also already been filled.
From today at 6 a.m. until the afternoon of Oct. 10, freshmen will campaign across campus, shaking hands, hanging posters and introducing themselves. Freshman candidates have said name recognition is the key to success, especially since, at this point, the freshmen do not know each other well.
Publicizing his name is crucial to Engineering freshman Greg Tidwell's campaign strategy. Tidwell hopes his nickname, "Tiddy," will set him apart from the other nine candidates running for freshman vice president.
"It's going to be difficult to get out there and to be more well-known than the others," he said. "`Tiddy' gets me attention better than Greg and it helps people remember my name."
Since the introductory informational meeting in September which drew more than 200 freshmen, students on the Nominations and Elections Committee officials have known this freshman election would differ from past ones. This hunch has only strengthened over the past few weeks, say NEC members, who have been inundated with e-mails and phone calls from eager freshmen with questions concerning the intricacies of the election process.
"The class itself is highly motivated and excited," said College sophomore Melissa LaVigne, the NEC vice chairwoman of elections. "That means the class will not only end up having a great and fun campaign, but that whoever does win will do an amazing job because of the intense competition to prove him or herself to be the best candidate."
Freshmen were required to fill out numerous forms and collect signatures from their classmates to declare candidacy in mid-September. And now that the election campaign is officially starting, freshmen like Jordan Dubnow are concerned about the competition.
"I'm a little nervous," the Chicago native and College freshman said. Dubnow recognizes that he is up against 12 other freshmen for class president, all of whom are male.
Of the 13 males running for class president, five are from Wharton. And of the eight females and two males running for class vice president, two are from Wharton -- statistics that surprise NEC Chairwoman Anne Hankey.
"I was actually expecting more Wharton people to be running for those positions," the College senior said. "Many students who have gotten involved in student government [in the past] were from Wharton. Stereotypically, Wharton students are characterized as more aggressive and young politicians."
Hankey has also noticed other trends shifting this year. Instead of freshmen coming in to Penn with the assumption that student government is just another resume-booster, she says they seem to genuinely care about affecting change at their school.
"The freshmen are using student government as a networking tool in a good way," Hankey said. "Not as a stepping stone for a job, but as a stepping stone for getting more involved in university life."
Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Caroline Dube contributed to this report.
