Sophia Guo

Freshman Cora Struebing gives her speech during the Class of 2028 Class Council elections. “I think my speech went well. Something I made sure I prioritized is not talking about things I’ve done in the past. I don’t think that’s something that people really care about. [So I talked] more about what I’m going to do in the future that will affect the class,” Struebing said. “I tried to build as many relationships with people in person, because I feel like that is more personal. We’re [going to use] different platforms to communicate, and I think that’s been flowing well.”

“Vote for me to have your year be jolly!” We hear variations on these slogans in all elections, from the presidential elections to elections at Jefferson. Though there are several similarities in the elections that happen in our country and Jefferson’s Class Council or Student Government Association (SGA) elections, there are also key differences between the two systems.

Campaigning 

With the growing use of social media among the population, presidential candidates often use social media platforms to advocate for their ideas and political views. These candidates are generally unrestricted and do not get formally penalized by any kind of administration for problematic posts. Additionally, they may discourage voters from voting for a certain candidate. The general public is also free to advertise and endorse any candidate that they like, or insult candidates that they do not like.

However, at Jefferson, up until the spring elections last year, students were not allowed to endorse any friends running for a position in Class Council or SGA.

“The reason for that change was it became too hard to regulate that rule,” SGA vice president Jocelyn Huie said. “[We decided] it’s more fair to not have that rule and have everyone be able to campaign for other people. If we miss something, then it’s our fault. With the rise of social media, it just became harder to regulate that.”

In the past, if students were caught endorsing their friends who were running, the candidates would get disqualified from the race. Current reasons for disqualification from candidacy include not turning in forms on time as well as posting inappropriate things on social media or any violations of the Student Rights and Responsibilities (SR&R).

“On the administrative side, any violations of the SR&R in any of the campaign materials [could disqualify a student]—it could be in fliers, it could be in videos—it could be [because] they’re not supposed to be campaigning [yet],” SGA sponsor Erin Connelly-Kosek said.

While in the presidential elections, candidates often campaign a year in advance of the election, students at Jefferson have a restricted time frame in which they are allowed to campaign.

“At Jefferson, campaigning doesn’t start until after speeches,” Connelly-Kosek said. “As soon as every candidate has finished their speech, they can begin campaigning.”

Social media use among candidates has changed throughout the years, as well. Fewer students are now handing out flyers at school compared to a few years ago.

“A lot more people are using social media now to campaign rather than just word of mouth,” Class of 2026 President Justin Kim said. “They’re also transitioning [away] from Facebook. There [are] less printed flyers and more electronic [things] in general.”

Platforms 

Politicians beyond presidential candidates often have platforms, and most civically engaged people do read these platforms. At Jefferson, candidates write platforms, but it is not common for a student to read them.

“People only read platforms for who they are interested in or know personally,” Class of 2027 senator Ami Le said. “I feel like a lot of us, even before [speeches], have a vague idea of who we’re going to vote for. I think people read platforms for people they want to know more [about] or people who already got their attention.”

These platforms give students a chance to organize their thoughts about reasons for running and the plans that they want to carry out when they are elected.

“It’s important that all candidates write a platform because it requires them to reflect on why they want to do run and what they want to do and enact,” Kim said. “Sometimes, as you’re writing, you might realize that class council isn’t for you. So, it’s a good way to find good candidates.”

From the November 2024 Issue of tjTODAY