Five Vie to Be Second-Ever Popularly Elected Vice President

Selamawi H. Asgedom '99 hopes to bring an element of fun to the Undergraduate Council. "I want to make the council a much funner, livelier place," he says.

Asgedom believes that the council's leadership is responsible for setting the tone for the entire group. To lighten the overall mood of the organization, he plans to tell jokes.

Asgedom, a Pforzheimer resident, has spent his first year on the council serving on the Student Affairs Committee. He is also involved with the KUUMBA singers, the Black Men's Forum and dorm crew.

Many people talked about how the election of Robert M. Hyman '98 and Lamelle D. Rawlins '99 as the Undergraduate Council president and vice president, respectively, in the campus' first-ever popular elections last spring combined two candidates whose records complemented each other perfectly.

Rawlins is hoping that she and her running mate of this year, Michael A. O'Mary '99, can match the success she enjoyed with Hyman. O'Mary is a first-year member of the council, but already boasts a burgeoning record.

"To some extent, it's only natural that we highlight Lamelle's record because she has sponsored so many things," O'Mary says. "[But] on the same token, it's not like I have nothing in my record."

O'Mary mentions shuttles to Logan Airport over Thanksgiving break and the Student Leader Summit as legislation he is particularly proud of.

O'Mary styles himself as a political novice next to Rawlins but says that he still has a lot to offer. Thus, O'Mary says that theirs is the ideal ticket.

"Lamelle and I agree on the direction the U.C. should be taking," he says. "We agree on practically all the issues."

Mark A. Price '98 is known around the Undergraduate Council as the "keeper of the sound system." Now he wants to be its vice president.

Price, a Quad resident, is pitching issues of importance to those students living north of Harvard Yard. He wants increased shuttle service and better campus security.

"Security is definitely a big thing in the Quad because of all the recent incidents," Price said.

He's running on a ticket with Elizabeth A. Haynes '98. The duo stresses many of the same issues, including the creation of a multicultural center and increased communication between the council and its constituents.

He specifically would like to see more frequent feedback from the council in the form of biweekly newsletters. "This way, students actually see what's going on."

Price was a member of the council's Finance Committee his first semester and part of the Campus Life Committee the next.

Price is confident about the election. But if things don't work, he says, he looks forward to continuing his work with the Black Men's Forum--and grooving to the sounds of Top 40 music.

"Even if I don't win, the Quad formal's right there," he says. "I'll bounce back."

Vice-presidential hopeful Ethan G. Russell '98, has done little to no campaigning thus far but exudes little worry even as the campaigning season draws to a close. As his main campaign strategy, Russell is planning a study break compete with drinks--"beverages," as he calls them--to woo prospective supporters.

But this isn't a pork project that some political boss dreamed up. Russell truly believes the Undergraduate Council should lighten up a bit.

"The U.C. should not be a political organization," said Russell. "It disgusts me how much these people put into their campaigns [with things] like opposition research."

Not being a council member himself, Russell believes that present council members take themselves--and their resumes--way too seriously.

"If they would actually use the energy constructively, we could actually do something to benefit society [instead of] boosting our egos and padding our resumes," Russell said.

Therefore, Russell remains more focused on planning the "study break" than on campaign postering. He also enjoys tutoring at the Franklin Afterschool Program for Phillips Brooks House in his spare time.

And if Russell wins, expect one extremely happy hour.

Joseph A. Sena '99 has a running mate.

But Sena stresses he's his own man.

Sena, the co-chair of the council's Campus Life Committee, is seeking the vice-presidential position on a ticket with Eric M. Nelson '99, who chairs the council's Student Affairs Committee.

Sena has focused on throwing campus-wide social events, while Nelson has concentrated on improving relationships with administrators in University Hall.

Though Sena says he thinks his ticket will appeal to different voters, he welcomes everyone's support.

"If our ticket appeals to different people," Sena says, "I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

"I made the decision to run in the vice-presidential race before I made the decision to run on a ticket. There's room for lots of improvement in the vice-presidential position, whereas the president is looked upon as [merely] a liason to the administration," says Sena, who is a Crimson editor.