Twice each year, the Vassar Student Association holds elections. This fall, members of the Class of 2013 will be eligible to run for a variety of positions. Each of these positions allows students to become deeply involved in Vassar life.

VIEW THE RESULTS HERE

VIEW THE CANDIDATES HERE

What are they key dates?

Filing: September 15 at 5 p.m. to September 17 at 5 p.m.
Mandatory Candidates Meeting: September 17 at 8 p.m. in Rockefeller Hall 200
Campaigning: September 17 at 12 a.m. to September 22 at 5 p.m.
Presidential Debate: September 21 at 9 p.m. in UpCDC
Voting: Sep 22 at 9 p.m. to September 24 at 9 p.m.
Results Party: To be determined. Late evening on September 24.

You will receive an e-mail in the next couple days about the specific procedure for declaring your candidacy for a particular position. Note that you will be given the opportunity to write a "statement of intent." Those statements typically describe your background (academic, extracurricular, work experience, etc.) and why you feel that you are qualified for the position you seek. What qualities would you bring to the job? What ideas do you have? What goals would you attempt to accomplish? Begin thinking about these questions; you final statement will need to be completed by September 15 at 5 p.m., although you are allowed to modify your statement at any point during the campaigning period.

What positions are available?

Class Council

Freshmen President
The Class President is responsible for organizing and leading all meetings of the Class Council. The primary responsibility of the Class President is to act as the liaison between the class and the VSA Council. The Class President should be in constant communication with his or her class through e-mail and other means, and should listen and be other to any comments, suggestions, or criticisms that rise from the constituents of the class. The Class President must attend and actively participate in all VSA Council meetings and any other committees or sub-committee onto which they are placed by the VSA Council. His or her main responsibilities with the Class Council are to set the meeting agendas, delegate tasks for other members of the council, and to inform the council of any pertinent information from the larger VSA. The Class President also oversees all programming efforts and is responsible for delegating responsibilities to the various members of the class council.

Freshmen Vice President
The Vice President is responsible for coordinating programming. This includes, but is not limited to, scheduling events with SARC interns, requesting programming support such as security as necessary, and coordinating supplies for programming.

Freshmen Secretary
The Class Secretary is responsible for maintaining minutes for all meetings of the class council. This secretary is also the liaison to the VP for Activities and completes organization reports and review as necessary. After the meetings, the secretary will email the minutes to the class council. The Class Secretary is also actively involved in the programming of the Class Council.

Freshmen Treasurer
The Class Treasurer is responsible for all of the financial dealings of the class. This includes the budgeting process, providing budget information to the Class Council, and transferring funds as necessary for programming. The treasurer is also actively involved in the programming of the Class Council.

Freshmen House Representatives

Cushing House Representative, Davison House Representative, Jewett House Representative, Josselyn House Representative, Lathrop House Representative, Main House Representative, Noyes House Representative, Raymond House Representative, Strong House Representative
The Freshmen Representatives serve on both their Class Council and House Team, acting as a conduit between their residence and class. They participate in programming for both the class and the dorm.

VSA and Joint Committees

Four Freshmen Representatives to serve on Judicial Board
The members off the Judicial Board are comprised entirely of elected students. It convenes to hold trial for students accused of violating VSA Constitution, VSA Bylaws, and mandates. Decisions are made by a majority vote, with the chair only voting in case of a tie. The VSA Vice President for Operations serves as a non-voting, Constitutional Advisor. Appeals of its decisions may be submitted to the VSA President for consideration of a re-trial. Members of the Judicial Board also serve on the Academic Panel and the College Regulations Panel.

Freshmen Representative to serve on Admissions / Financial Aid Committee
Members truly determine how effective this committee is, as they suggest the topics. Past agendas have included the FOCUS recruitment of students of color, the use and training of student tour guides, the alumni-admissions program, early decision, international recruitment, financial aid packaging methods, student employment and work study wage/hour limitations, the impact of possible changes in federal and state aid policies, etc. Recently there has been discussion on the diversity of the applicant pool and recruitment.

Freshmen Representative to serve on the Committee on College Life
This is a voting body, with the Chair (the Dean of the College) only voting in case of a tie. This committee instilled with the power to review and alter nearly all college regulations, aside from academic, including alcohol policies, party policies, parking policies, and the legal definitions of punishable offenses.

Freshmen Representative to serve on Residential Life Advisory Committee
This committee advises the College, through the Director of Residential Life, on living arrangements and assists with problems relating to residential programming.

I want to get involved, but I still have questions about the position. Who should I talk to?

The Vassar Student Association is a widespread organization, and it can often be confusing to new (and even returning) students. We are hear to help. If you have any questions about the positions or the elections (time commitment, responsibilities, etc.), do not hesitate to contact the VSA Vice President for Operations. We also encourage you to read about the VSA to understand some of the broader functions of student government at Vassar.

To file for a position, please send an e-mail message to the Board of Elections at vsaelections@vassar.edu with the following information:

-- Your full name. (You can optionally add a nick name in the following form: John ‘Johnny’ Doe)
-- The title of the position you are filing for (view the complete list of open positions).
-- A candidate statement. (To get an idea of the scope and length of a typical candidate statement, feel free to review last year’s candidate statements.) If you would prefer to not submit a statement at this time, please say so in your email. Your candidate statement will appear along with your name on the voting (ballot) page of the respective position.

The filing deadline is Wednesday, September 17th, at 5 p.m. After the filing deadline, you will still be able to add or change your candidate statement. To do so, simply send an email with your updated statement to vsaelections@vassar.edu.

Eligibility note: You cannot run for more than one non-committee position. If you run for a Judicial Board position, you can apply for at most one committee position. In order to run for the Freshmen Representative position for a residence hall, you must be living in that residence hall. You must be a member of the Class of 2013, and you can only run for positions if you will not be on leave for any part of the 2009-10 academic year. Please consult the VSA Constitution for authoritative information on eligibility, and e-mail vsaelections@vassar.edu with any questions.