While the presidential and vice presidential candidates square off in the polls this week, Undergraduate Assembly and Class Board contenders are engaged in heated races as well.
Though most UA and Class Board members are running for re-election — and many are unopposed — the race for 2013 Class Board President has drawn attention. Current 2013 Vice President of Finance and College freshman Jake Shuster is challenging incumbent Jonathon Youshaei, a Wharton freshman.
On Saturday evening, Shuster sent an e-mail to members of the Class of 2013, outlining Youshaei’s missteps throughout his year in office.
Shuster “thought it was important to make clear the issues with the leadership,” he said. “Youshaei was disorganized, didn’t have events planned and put things together last minute. I stand by what I said, though I wish I had put it in a positive tone.”
A transcript of Shuster’s e-mail was also posted to IvyGate, an Ivy League gossip blog, Monday morning.
The following morning, College freshman and 2013 Vice President of Internal Affairs Ben Watkins sent an e-mail to members of the freshman class announcing the Class Board’s endorsement of Youshaei for president.
“It was a positive e-mail in support, nothing negative,” Youshaei said of Watkins’ message, explaining that the rationale was that “nothing was ever broken and, if anything, things were going great” with the standing board.
However, according to College freshman and 2013 SAS Chair Josh Dembowitz, he and other board members were not fully aware of or in support of Watkins’ e-mail before it was sent.
“I was told the rest of the Board wanted to [support Watkins] also, and I didn’t want to hold that up,” Dembowitz explained.
“I’m disappointed by what I see as a lack of integrity and honesty, so I would say I’m taking back whatever the endorsement was,” he added, emphasizing that he wanted to remain neutral in the race.
Neither Shuster’s nor Watkins’ e-mails violated election policy. Though candidates should “play it smart, neither party actually violated the letter of the law,” NEC Vice Chair for Elections and Wharton senior Patricia Liu said.
Looking beyond the freshman Class Board candidates, two-year incumbent Adam Behrens and Sim Sims — both College juniors — are competing for the “very public position” of 2011 Class Board President, Liu said.
Though there were initially no candidates for the position of 2011 Class Board Vice President of Internal Affairs, one write-in candidate — incumbent Eric Morris, a Wharton junior — has gained enough votes to become a viable contestant. Several others are campaigning via Twitter and Facebook for students to write their names into the ballot.
Liu explained that this situation could have come about due to a number of factors.
“The NEC imposes certain deadlines and restrictions in terms of scheduling,” she said. Write-in candidates “could have been unable to deal with the paperwork.”
