Collin O'Mara '01 and Charles Gussow '01, who were elected president and vice president of the 2001 Class Council this week, both said the organization will focus on the Initiative and community service this year.
O'Mara, a history and English modified major from Syracuse, N.Y., received 274 votes, defeating Judy Huang '01, who received 215. Gussow, a history major from Staten Island, N.Y., won the vice presidential race with 230 write-in votes, defeating Thomas Ferede '01, who received 166 votes. A total of 516 votes were cast.
In an interview with The Dartmouth yesterday, O'Mara said as president he plans to make sure that the Class of 2001 effectively expresses its views on the Social and Residential Life Initiative to the steering committee and the Board of Trustees before a decision is made about the Initiative.
"My main concern is that the options we create are the options that students want, rather than what the Trustees what to give us," O'Mara said.
O'Mara, a reporter for The Dartmouth, said he decided to run for president because the next year will be a challenging one, due to the Initiative and also because many juniors will be off-campus during much of the year.
O'Mara also said he hopes to begin a tradition in which the junior class initiates programs in conjunction with the Tucker Foundation in an effort to "give something back to the Upper Valley community." He said his plan is a continuation of ideas initiated by the Student Assembly, such as 'MoreCorps, but he hopes to create one large term-long project each term.
"I want to provide and outlet for '01s to participate in community service, but not in the large scale of a lot of the Tucker programs," said O'Mara.
O'Mara also said he plans to try to use the Class Council as a forum to promote programming supported by multiple campus groups. He said many groups often plan similar events, and consolidating them might improve the turn-out at activities.
He added he also would like to work with Career Services to create plans to make senior year less stressful.
Gussow, secretary of Zeta Psi fraternity, said he decided to run for Class Council vice president when he realized there was only one candidate for vice president, and there were no candidates at all who were affiliated with a Greek house.
He said a lot of the dialogue between students and the Trustees regarding the Social and Residential Life Initiative has been categorized as "affiliated" or "unaffiliated," and he hopes to represent a body that is a combination of students who are members and non-members of Greek houses.
"I see the council as an umbrella body that hold the whole class together," he said.
Gussow said as vice president he plans to contact all leaders of student organizations -- from Greek and affinity houses to publications -- and foster their working together to accomplish "more than just programming." He said "everybody co-sponsors," but groups do not interact enough beyond that, and he hopes to "get them to work together on a meaningful level."
Gussow also said, like O'Mara, he would like to advocate increased participation in community services.
"Right now it's very hard to get into community service, not making a huge time commitment," he said.
While O'Mara has been a member of the Class Council executive board, Gussow has no experience with the organization.
He said his lack of experience will help him "go in there without any biases or without any preconceived notions." In addition, he said he will be able to listen to people's views and "keep an open mind" as a leader.
O'Mara has participated in a number of organizations, including the Glee Club, Mock Trial Society and the crew team. He is also a tour guide.
Gussow is the summer editor-in-chief of the Jacko Lantern humor magazine and an undergraduate advisor. He also plays rugby and works for the Dartmouth Dining Services.
