In the spring term, outgoing seniors leave the positions they have held in Choate’s student organizations, and newly-elected presidents and other officers step into their roles. In order to determine who these new presidents and officers will be, elections may take place at any time during the first half of the term. Some elections have already been held.
Clubs ranging from the Mythology Club to the Movie Appreciation Club, the Chess Club to the Culinary Club, all must hold elections in the spring. During this “season for electing,” says Mr. James Yanelli, director of the John Joseph Activities Center (SAC), “the Student Council mandates that each club hold some kind of election or choose some other kind of process by which to select leaders. The goal is to make sure that all processes are fair and well articulated and that they are supervised by an adult.”
Some clubs, such as the Russian Club, ask all members for any input they wish to make. The Russian Club did elections electronically. Amy Gobel ’08, this year’s president of that club, explained, “I e-mailed the club list, asking if any members were interested in running, and four people responded. After another e-mail with a list of the candidates, members elected Britta Roosendahl [’09] to be the next club president.”
For other clubs, especially those with large numbers of officers, it makes more sense to conduct elections less democratically. In these cases, an outgoing officer may nominate a new one, as long as an adult adviser supervises the selection.
The Club Recognition Board (CRB) also plays a role in making sure elections are carried out fairly and without controversy. Receiving its authority from the Student Council and presided over by the Student Council Vice President (currently David Lam ’09), the CRB meets once a week to hear proposals for new clubs and to monitor existing clubs. The proceedings of each club’s elections must follow the regulations as stated in the club’s constitution.
In the second half of May, once club elections have come to a conclusion and the new leaders have been ushered in, all of the club presidents will attend a meeting at which Student Activities Director Chris Bielizna will prepare them for the roles they are assuming. He will explain such essential points as how to reserve space for a meeting, how to communicate with a club, how to use CHIP, and how to sponsor a fundraiser. Then, the club presidents will start to plan next year’s club fair and what events they will host in the fall. Another meeting of club presidents will take place at the beginning of the new school year.
“We always need to plan one step ahead,” explained Mr. Yanelli. “Thus, we will meet at the beginning of November to plan the winter term, and again at the beginning of February to plan for the spring.”
Once their successors assume leadership, the outgoing presidents and officers will not simply be left behind. For the rest of the spring, most of the former leaders are still expected to play important roles in the clubs’ executive functions: the former leaders will use the experience they have built up to advise the current leaders.
Some might think that matching terms in office with the academic year—passing off officer positions at the end of spring term instead of part way through—would make more sense. The advantage of having former presidents on campus to aid new ones during their first term of office and the sixth formers’ desires to enjoy senior spring without heavy responsibilities are the underlying reasons behind Choate’s system of beginning offices in the spring, an exciting time for clubs. “The sixth formers are floating out to sea,” said Mr. Yanelli, “and the fifth formers are assuming leadership.”
