The following tickets are running for sophomore class council.
Soler-Kenney-German-Crotty
Jay Kenney, vice presidential candidate for sophomore class council (SCC), said the ticket, comprised of four members of the current freshman class council, is running on the platform of "experience and innovation."
"For us, the big one is experience and knowing how the process works and knowing who to go to so we can hit the ground running." Kenney said. "Yet at the same time, I think we bring a new and exciting energy to SCC."
Presidential candidate Catherine Soler said she wants to plan events like class trips to a water park trip or Cedar Point, a class tailgate and a poker tournament.
Other ideas include using the class Web site to form studying groups and class yoga and pilate sessions to help ease students' stress.
The ticket also plans to have town-hall style meetings once or twice a month in which students can give feedback on what is and isn't working, Soler said.
Responding to criticism that the current freshman class council is an exclusive clique, Soler said it is a "misconception" and that her ticket wants to "connect with a wider range of people than this year."
"We're genuine and we really have a passion for what we do. We enjoy being in class council and we understand the commitment. For us, this is by no means an exclusive club, and we would like all levels of involvement from SCC," Soler said.
Kenney said the experience the ticket would help bring leadership.
"I think hands down that we are the most qualified ticket for SCC because of our experience," he said. "It took us awhile to get the system down but we have it down. We know where we want to go and what needs to be done. And I think that is a definite edge over the other groups."
Kelly-Vargas-Schmidt-Kelliher
Sophomore class council presidential candidate C.J. Kelly said his ticket wants to bring strengthened "community, unity and communication" to the Class of 2012.
In order to improve communication with the class, they will strive for "openness of government," Kelly said.
This will include meetings that are open to the entire class, he said.
Katie Kelliher, the candidate for treasurer, said they would also like to improve class unity, something that isn't strong in comparison to dorm unity.
"We're all the class of 2012. We are all going to graduate together. We are all going out into the world together. We want to get close now," Kelliher said.
Kelly said the ticket will achieve this unity through events like poker games, dodge ball and MarioKart tournaments.
He said in order to make sure people are able to attend events, they plan to create a class Web site in addition to a tab on InsideND to display upcoming SCC events.
Vice presidential candidate Courtney Vargas said the team thinks their individual involvement in different activities, like liturgical choir and mock trial, gives them a broad range of perspectives from which they can understand the sophomore class.
"We'll work really hard to make this class the best class that Notre Dame has ever seen," Vargas said. "That is our promise."
Ruhling-Mathes-Phillip-Brophy
Class of 2012 presidential candidate Lauren Ruhling said her ticket was motivated to run because she said the current Freshman Class Council (FCC) acts too much like a clique.
"We feel kind of a disconnect between students and the Class Council ... I couldn't name all four of our class officers right now. So we really just want to change that and make us more accessible to students," Ruhling said.
Laura Phillip, candidate for secretary, said the ticket plans to create a class Web site with a calendar of events and a suggestion box. She also said they plan to have a day where the entire sophomore class participates in a community service project.
Other ideas include a Halo tournament and a bake-off in which the girls bake and the guys taste.
Vice presidential candidate Jay Mathes said they also want to hold a concert that would be similar to The Show, hosted by the Student Union Board every fall. He said the concert would occur in the spring and would be performed by a well-known band.
Ruhling said the ticket is running in order to make a change, not so they can have the title on their resume.
Phillip agreed, and said they came together because "FCC is a huge click and ... we wanted to make a change."
Mathes emphasized that, if elected, the team would be visible and accessible.
"We're not just going to sit in some student council office room by ourselves. We're here to help people," he said.
