Though incoming freshman may find several opportunities to commit themselves to a student leadership role on campus, only a few will put candidates head to head for the coveted spots with the deciding factor being the entire full-time freshman class: freshman class seats with the student organization of Kean University. These positions of president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and nine representative seats all require students to fill out an application with the office of student organization before the September 14, 2011, deadline.
Students running for freshman class seats are encouraged to campaign either as a team or as a solo candidate during the allowed dates. Running candidates must also remember the crucial policy of refraining from official announcement of their candidacy until all applications have been reviewed and approved; applicants will be notified by the office of student organization when they can officially post candidacy. Prospective candidates should read the entire policies and procedures section of their applications prior to handing in the complete form.
Elected candidates will serve on the board until the end of the 2011-12 academic year, unless circumstances violating their policy and procedure as a council member are to occur. Members of the freshman class will sit on board with the rest of the student government and will represent the voice and needs of their freshman class peers. To proactively provide this voice of representation, the freshman class council members will host freshman class meetings bi-weekly in which any member of the freshman class in the university is encouraged to attend. As most council meets are open, the same student.
As with each class, the freshman class board will receive a governmental duty to oversee during their term. The duties to be delegated to the classes are overseeing the book store, resident living, food services, and student accounting. Though each responsibility requires a class to schedule meetings and discuss progressive strategies with their respective area, all members of council are encouraged to aid in any university matter they can contribute to; that is, collaborative efforts are considered ideal.
Freshman students seeking a seat with the freshman class council approach the election with different methods. While last year's elected freshman class president sought a team of leadership potentials, the year prior to that, MariamAbouhaibAbouhaib
Students considering in running in Freshman class elections should be deterred from participation if the fear of a loss arises. 2010 Freshman class president candidate, Robert Lerner, loss his election, but proved endurance can pay off.
"I worked very hard in the Freshman election. I put long hours and sleepless nights into that campaign. Although I was very disappointed that I lost, I learned a lot from the experience and I also made a lot of friends," tells Lerner. "The friends I made on the campaign trail also became my running mates in the next election. After a lot of hard work in the spring election, we won. If I could give the Freshman candidates any advice, it would be to stay positive, keep working hard, do not give up, and have fun with it." As the 2011-12 Sophomore class president, Lerner looks to have the year he looked forward to the first time around -- but with a new outlook on what the position will entail.
