Yale University, the alma mater of the past two Presidents of the United States, is a hotbed of political fervor...or maybe not. The elections to the Yale College Council (YCC) were held this past weekend, but only six of the 12 colleges elected representatives to the board.
Candidates from Pierson, Trumbull, Calhoun, Morse, Branford, and Ezra Stiles earned positions on the council. The elections in the other colleges will not be held until this weekend.
The delay resulted from the fact that only one person from each college ran for the open seat. YCC rules state that if only one candidate runs, the election will be postponed one week to allow other students to enter the race. If no opposition steps forward by the end of the second week, the individual candidate will automatically be appointed to the board.
What caused this year's low candidate participation and voter turnout? Some blame poor advertising for the overall level of apathy. "The YCC seems to exist in name only," Jeremy Hetzler, TC '98, said. "While I'm sure they do their jobs well, they don't communicate to the rest of the student body what is going on."
Many students were completely unaware that the election was even taking place. "I did not know when the election was or if we even had Silliman reps," Lily Pao, BR '98, said.
While some worry that the YCC is declining in significance, President Jon Klein, TC '97, was not concerned about the lack of candidates. "The election process takes two weeks. There are always several colleges that have delayed elections," Klein said. Klein also spoke of the Freshperson College Council elections, which had an excellent turnout.
According to Klein, the YCC has a busy semester ahead. One of the first priorities is to "make sure that student interests are protected in the event of a labor conflict," Klein said.
The council has also begun preparations for this year's Winter Ball and Spring Fling. Other prominent areas of involvement include pushing for extended reading hours in the library and researching career-services programs.
Still, interest in the YCC seems to remain low among students. "What kind of influence does the YCC really have? I actually have no idea what they do," Melissa Pleasant, SM '99 said.
Copyright 1995, The Yale Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
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