Campus Council to select new executives

Campus Council is ready to tab a new generation of executive officers tonight, as student legislators vote today on who will fill the positions of President, Vice President, Treasurer and Communications Coordinator for the next academic year.

The 10 students vying for the four executive officer positions all boast impressive resumes, and hope to take Campus Council's productivity level to new heights next year.

Campus Council President

Junior Anthony Vitarelli is the sitting Campus Council President and running uncontested. Despite this, he has developed a specific platform for next year consisting of three main objectives. "We will entirely overhaul the housing assignment process, we're going to do a thorough evaluation of the [Quadrangle] Model and Campus Council will also play a more active role in empowering the [Quadrangle] councils," he said.

The Quadrangle Model-a residential system that espouses more cohesion between students living in the same residential halls-was adopted earlier this year as an ideal for residence halls across campus by The Office of Residence Life and Housing Services.

Denoble, currently an East Campus Council Representative, plans of working toward a better definition of the Quadrangle Model and believes his long list of acquaintances, ranging from administrators to students, will help him if elected to the vice presidency. "It involves a lot of networking, and I feel like I've developed a lot of good skills in that area," he said.

Kallmeyer was an East Campus Council Representative during his freshman year, and is now serving as the Treasurer of Campus Council and chair of the finance committee of Campus Council. Kallmeyer prioritizes the improvement of communication with students and advancement of student activities. "I would love to get more direct feedback from students through possibly encouraging more interaction with [quadrangle] councils about what issues are most important to residents," he said.

Campus Council Treasurer

This race will be the most competitive of them all, as five students-four of them freshmen-have their sights set on the post of Campus Council Treasurer.

Freshman Alex Apple is currently the Sports Coordinator of East Campus Council, the Vice President of Blackwell dormitory and sits on two committees within ECC. Apple believes that his extensive social networking and his popularity suits him well for the job. "I've met a lot of kids from my class, and usually I'm the person that people come to... when [they] need to know about programming or events," he said.

Brittany Greenfield, also a freshman, believes that her experience in student government at Duke this year will serve her well and hopes to continue some trends that this year's treasurer, Kallmeyer, has set in place.

"This year I am East Campus Council Treasurer, and by being treasurer I sat on the Campus Council finance committee," Greenfield said. "I would definitely like to continue to emphasize the small group funding."

Ralph Simon, currently Edens quadrangle representative to Campus Council, is the sole upperclassman running for treasurer and places a strong emphasis on his resume.

"I'm currently on Campus Council's finance committee, I'm the secretary of my fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, and I was on East Campus Council as well," Simon said. "I feel like I have basic organizational skills, social skills, and I'm good at just getting things done."

Vijay Brihmadesam, a freshman who is the treasurer of his dormitory's House Council, believes he is less entrenched than others in student government, but stresses his commitment to improving the Quadrangle Model.

"I'm more of an outsider, I would say, but the reason I decided to run for treasurer was because of the Quadrangle Model," Brihmadesam said. "The administration never really articulated what the Quad-based system was... [and] we should help develop it with them."

Rounding out the freshman candidates is John Papini, who, with Denoble, serves as an East Campus Council Representative. Papini feels that his strong sense of responsibility makes him the best candidate for the job.

"The main thing [is] my ability to manage time, and I think that's really important," Papini said. "This semester I took five and a half credits, I'm on the debate team and I'm doing student government."

Campus Council Communications Coordinator

The contest for Communications Coordinator involves two Quadrangle Representatives-sophomore Katie Cox from the WEL Quadrangle, and junior Katherine Robinson from Few Quadrangle.

Next year's communications coordinator will chair the programming committee, and Cox believes her experiences in her quadrangle council would help her. "What I take from the WEL [Quadrangle] this year is seeing what piques student interest, and I'd take that and bring it to programming," she said.

Robinson believes she would have a special responsibility as communications coordinator to foster more interaction on campus. "It would be good for Campus Council to stand out even more to the student body next year... overall I think communication with students and the administration is the key," she said.