Three rising seniors--Aaron Dinin, Pasha Majdi and Anthony Vitarelli--have thrown their hats into the upcoming race for the Duke Student Government president. While the official ballot for the DSG executive election will not be certified until Tuesday afternoon, all three candidates confirmed their candidacies for the March 30 contest.
DSG Attorney General Dave Kahne would neither confirm nor deny any of the candidates. However Dinin, Majdi and Vitarelli said they are looking forward to the contest, which is marked by the fact that none has any current affiliation with the student group.
Dinin, a cartoonist for The Chronicle, is a English major and hails from Atlanta. He said he felt compelled to run for president in light of DSG's recent problems with attendance and achieving reform legislation.
"Someone should step up and do something about it," he said. Dinin, who has no experience with the student government, said that his "outsider" perspective would also provide a unique viewpoint for the group.
Majdi is a public policy studies and philosophy double major from Vienna, Va., and currently serves as communications coordinator for Campus Council.
"I think the DSG president needs to be more than just the leader of a student government, but needs to be aware of the student body and needs to represent students," he said. "I think the DSG president needs to be able to do things besides passing legislation and resolutions, to do things like coordinate students."
While lacking any involvement with DSG, Majdi said he thought he would bring fresh ideas and outlook to the table. "I consider [lack of DSG affiliation] a good thing," he said.
Vitarelli is currently Campus Council president. The Vorhees, N.J., native is majoring in public policy studies and economics and served as a DSG legislator his sophomore year.
"I feel I have an extensive understanding of the myriad events that impact undergraduates," he said. "I am excited about the year to come. DSG has a very wide policy jurisdiction that has been under-utilized in the past years."
Vitarelli said he plans to talk to as many students as possible by visiting cultural groups and even going door-to-door to reach his constituency before the election.
Both Vitarelli and Majdi said their friendship, developed since their freshmen days on East Campus Council, would not be affected by the race. "It's going to be a friendly campaign," Majdi said.
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