Drescher, Saad named class presidents

The senior class of 2012 will be led by Dean Drescher and Mohammad Saad.

The pair received 1,073 votes from the junior class, almost doubling the 684 votes obtained by their opponents, Susan Chen and Omar Currie, according to unofficial numbers released Tuesday night.

“It’s really exciting to see all our efforts come through and see all our hard work from the past three months pay off for our goal,” Saad said.

Drescher and Saad’s main campaign objectives were class unity and community involvement.

Their platform included a variety of options for community service, including school supply drives, Operation Christmas Child and teaming up with organizations in the surrounding Chapel Hill and Carrboro areas.

Drescher and Saad collected 322 signatures, more than 200 fewer than their opponents. The duo attributed their signature count to their decision to stop petitioning after reaching the required amount.

While Drescher and Saad took a rather traditional campaign approach, Chen and Currie’s tactics were more eccentric.

The duo made a video, which is posted on their campaign website and YouTube, explaining what it would be like if they were elected to serve as the senior class leaders. The video features many recurring images of Chen and Currie with cupcakes — an image that reflected the team’s initiatives.

The cake portion stood for the classes and memories at UNC, while the icing and cherry represented the finishing touches — the senior year.

Chen and Currie said they would have focused on the social aspects of senior life at the University.

The team had an array of social event ideas exclusively for seniors. Their ideas ranged from semi-formals to date-and-dash events to an affordable Spring Break trip for the whole senior class.

Chen and Currie had 563 signatures, which is well above the 250 needed to get them on the ballot. Going into the election, they did not think having more signatures would provide any advantage.

After the results were announced, Chen said she was glad that she and Currie were able to run together, and they would not trade this experience for anything.

Chen and Currie were quick to congratulate Drescher and Saad after Andrew Phillips, chairman of the Board of Elections, announced the results. Both sides said the campaign was positive and friendly as it came to a close.

“We just hope they keep their commitment to service,” Currie said. “They have a unique opportunity and I hope they take advantage of it.”

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