In an unprecedented move, the Class Board presidents of 2010, 2011 and 2012 collectively endorsed College freshman Jake Shuster for Class of 2013 president on Thursday.
Shuster is running against incumbent Jonathon Youshaei, a Wharton freshman.
“From the beginning, we saw a misfit between the dynamic of the Freshman Class Board and what we see Class Board as representing,” Class of 2012 President and Wharton sophomore Jibran Khan said of Youshaei’s year in office.
Shuster, on the other hand, is more aligned with the class board’s “true spirit and nature,” Khan added.
And with the “absurd” tactics of both Youshaei’s and Shuster’s campaigns, “we just decided we need to take some sort of stance. Things are clearly not okay, just because of the way both candidates are acting,” Khan said.
According to Shuster, the endorsement is “a happy surprise … if you look at Youshaei’s website, he’s basically comparing himself to the class presidents and criticizing them without actual information.”
“This entire thing is about us, the Class of 2013,” Youshaei said in response to the endorsement. “I’m confident that together we know it’s not about the outsiders, but about the results that have been brought and will be brought to one of the best classes walking on Locust.”
Despite the competitive nature of the elections, Khan said, creating “an impetus for change on the freshman class board” is a top priority.
45.0 percent, as of 12:30 a.m. on Friday morning Source: The Nominations and Elections Committee
IvyGate, the Ivy League gossip blog, has been following the race and has written four posts about it thus far.
Shuster doesn’t know who tipped IvyGate, but said, “I think the articles that are on IvyGate show the manipulation used by the current class president in his campaign… I really hope that voters consider all the facts before voting.”
45.0 percent, as of 12:30 a.m. on Friday morning Source: The Nominations and Elections Committee
