Tonight, the curtains will part.
After months of behind-the-scenes campaigning and planning, the students who aspire to office — most notably student body president — will reveal themselves to the student body.
Only after weeks of petitioning and debate will the character of the student body president candidates’ interactions show, though potential candidates said they are committed to operate on friendly terms despite tension that emerged between two hopefuls in the fall.
Rick Ingram, who is widely rumored to be running for student body president, filed a complaint against Student Body Secretary Ian Lee in November for pursuing candidacy, claiming that the Student Code prohibited the secretary from doing so.
But the Board of Elections ruled that Lee can run as long as he does not abuse or neglect the duties of his position.
“I was concerned initially with Lee’s ability to run as student body secretary,” Ingram said. “They decided to interpret the Code a little differently than I had. That’s their prerogative.”
Andrew Phillips, chairman of the Board of Elections, said he was concerned about the complaint, but has also observed positive interactions between potential candidates.
“One thing I’ve been very impressed about with all the candidates is the amount that they talk to each other, and the amount that those relationships seem to be pretty open,” he said. “They tend to respect each other.”
Ingram said the fact that he filed a complaint so early is not representative of what his attitude will be during the campaign.
