College sophomore Irmina Gawlas was vice president of her class last year.
But she didn't even bother running for the sophomore class board because she was so disenchanted with the election process at Penn.
"Many students were disenfranchised over something so silly," she said, referring to a flurry of freshman candidates being disqualified last year for campaigning early on Facebook.
And a year after the controversy, the group that oversees student elections remains a lightning rod for criticism.
Last year, the Nominations and Elections Committee charged 14 freshman candidates with violating campaign rules, all stemming from campaign activity on Facebook before it was allowed. Five of those candidates were disqualified from the election.
But this year, the NEC is aiming for a more transparent process that they hope will make this election season a little less contentious.
Freshman candidates were not allowed to start formal campaigning before Sept. 20 last year, but some candidates either created groups that supported their run - or joined them - before this period. Many of last year's candidates said they were confused about whether or not Facebook activity constituted campaigning.
This year, as the NEC prepares for another crop of freshmen candidates, the lessons of last year are still fresh in the minds of those now in charge.
"We're trying to make it more explicit that you cannot campaign early," NEC Chairwoman and College senior Laura Brookover said. "We've made the rules on campaigning through electronic means more specific."
In the Fair Practices Code, the document that guides student elections, Facebook is now mentioned by name. It states that "word of mouth, hanging posters, distributing flyers, sending e-mails, using electronic social networks (e.g. Facebook), creating Web sites, and using online messaging services" all constitute campaigning.
Campaigning will officially begin Friday at 6 a.m.
Last year's candidates view their experience with a mixture of lingering bewilderment and indignation.
Former freshman class President and College sophomore Jon Hefter, who campaigned last year and was not charged by the NEC, said, "I think the rules were ambiguous enough that anyone could . take advantage."
Others have a decidedly less charitable view towards both the process and the NEC.
"We did not know until too late," said College sophomore Steve Martucci, who ran for freshman class president last year. "The rules were obscure."
Martucci added that even though he was disqualified, he feels fine with the final outcome.
Brookover just hopes for a smooth election season this year.
"I think we put a lot of thought last year into this," she said. "I think we did make [the rules] more specific."
