Update: The winners of the class of 2020 election have been announced. They are as follows:
President Tri Nguyen
Vice President Kaysha Kapadia
Treasurer Lauren Andrews
Secretary Gwyn Petersen
Historian Nina Volpe
School Advisory Council Representative Kemper Bernstein
Principal’s Council Representative Elizabeth Kalmanovich
Sergeant at Arms Matthew Price-Palluel
With class elections coming up tomorrow Sept. 23, stickers and slogans have made appearances all across campus. To help readers better know all of the candidates running, The Torch has interviewed each candidate and compiled a list of profiles for each individual. Below are the contested candidates of the class of 2020.
Candidates for President
BEN COVERT – “Speak up…I’ll listen.”
Why are you running?
“I want to help people understand that I plan to make Pine View a better place for the ninth-grade class.”
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“I would listen to all of the ideas and the class officers and I would choose one, then tackle it like a team. I know that if I choose one goal for the whole year, not every will want that, so I want to have as much of a democratic process as possible in ninth grade. I know the situation is pretty nice, but like anything, it’s not perfect. I know that I can make a good year for this class.”
FAITH KERN – “Have faith in Faith!”
Why are you running?
“I’ve grown up with the 212° philosophy all my life. When I see an issue I tackle it using my leadership skills that have developed throughout my years at Pine View. I want to work as hard as possible so that everyone in the freshman class will have a great year. I plan to help them get the freedoms they deserve.”
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“I hope to accomplish bringing freedom back to everyone by talking to assistant principals and others in charge and try to understand why they take freedoms away, and then argue to get it back.”
EMILY NAIDEL – “Feel Em-powered, vote for Em”
Why are you running?
“I aspire to one day become President of the United States. I figure that you have to start somewhere, so I’m hoping to start small and work my way up.”
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“I wish to start fundraising for graduation and Cobalt early so that it doesn’t become a struggle to earn the money later on.”
TRI NGUYEN
Why are you running?
“I have decided to run for freshman class president to improve Pine View. I want to contribute my creativity, thoughts and knowledge to the Pine View community. I want to fix some of the major issues in Pine View.”
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“I hope to make student events even more successful and innovative, and ensure that every student in my grade has a good year. I also plan to organize student activities to put less stress on the ninth-graders. I aim to help students academically as well, whether that be putting together a study group or asking teachers to enforce the two tests a day rule.”
STEFANI WALD
Why are you running?
“I want to make sure [the freshman class] is run with organization and with the best interest of the entire class in mind. I am interested in the opportunity for a new leadership role and am up for the challenge.”
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“In office I hope to create a productive class that not only has strong officers that lead the class successfully, but a student body that has a strong influence on what decisions are made in regards to matters that affect them. I want the class to be run with the student’s best interests at heart.”
MORGAN WALTIMYER – “Not just Waltimyer, WaltiTRYER”
Why are you running?
“I have decided to run for president because of my belief that more than a few things around campus need to be changed to make this year run smoothly for the student body. I hear people say things about what they want changed and I’d love to be the one to do it for them.”
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“I hope to accomplish several things in office but my main priority is health. I remember the years when students had access to a salad bar and believe the nutritious option needs to be brought back to the school. After reading Food Inc. by Karl Weber over the summer and seeing so many interesting ideas about how to get others involved in eating healthier, I would like to discuss the possibility of having a type of farmers’ market at school where local growers can come and sell their produce, and students and parents can make purchases with Principal Dr. Steven Covert.”
Candidates for Vice President
CHRISTIANA GUAN – “Are you Guana cote for Christiana? You Christihonest should!”
Why are you running?
“I think that it would be interesting to try out, and I actually like doing work.”
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“I hope to get us to start fundraising, and to get ahead of everything and see what other people want to do, to get prepared for everything.”
KASHYA KAPADIA – “1 vote for me is a vote for Harambe!”
Why are you running?
“I want to be Vice President because there are a lot of things that I believe our school could change. I have lots of leadership qualities I think that I could really lead the class in the right direction and make sure things get done on time.
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“I would go to all of the student officer meetings, lead them, make plans for our class, create fundraisers and assist the President with all of their duties. I hope to keep our class on track and basically make sure that all of our fundraisers end up going well and all of our college applications go well.”
CHRIS PATRICK – “You, the Class of 2020, is my top priority”
Why are you running?
“I’m running for Vice President because I want to help out the Class of 2020. My dream job has always been Vice President, a sidekick to whomever I’m running with. This year, I’m campaigning with Ben Covert.”
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“I hope to accomplish things for the best of 2020, including lots of fundraising and lots of activities going on. I just want to make sure that the Class of 2020’s voice is getting heard and brought into our meetings.”
JADEN WIESINGER – “Make Pine View great again – Jaden for Vice President”
Why are you running?
“I want to make a difference for the class of 2020, and to help have a better environment for the students.”
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“I hope to raise all the funds necessary and to make the class a fun environment for everyone.”
CASSI BRADLEY
Why are you running?
“I love Pine View and I want to give back. I was part of the student council at my old school, and I really enjoyed being a part of the student government and helping the class.”
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“If elected, I will fulfill all the duties given to a Vice President. I think the main responsibility of the role is listening to students and bringing their ideas or issues to the student council.”
Candidates for Treasurer
LAUREN ANDREWS
Why are you running?
“I think it will be a good experience to be involved in the student government without being President. I’d like to [run for President] eventually but I think starting with treasurer is a good start because you’re not in charge of the whole thing. I really love math and stuff like that so I feel it’s a good place to start.”
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“I want to try to make more money so that we can have better dances and school events. Instead of being limited to a certain amount of money I want to make the most money possible so we can have the best events possible.”
Candidates for Secretary
NICHOLAS JURCZYK – “Hi! I’m Nicholas Jurczyk. Vote for me!”
Why are you running?
“I wanted to see if I could improve the school. I would like to see end of the year field trips, like last year, and I was hoping that I could work with the other candidates to plan one of those.”
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“As I said before, an end of year field trip for the entire grade. I also would like to improve the school and all of the clubs.”
GWYN PETERSEN – “Vote for Gwyn, she’s good with a pen!”
Why are you running?
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“I’d like to keep better records of student activities and what the class of 2020 accomplishes for a throwback presentation our senior year. I want to work with the class president to establish the freshman class’s own identity and traditions so we can leave a lasting legacy at Pine View.”
Candidates for Historian
NINA VOLPE
Why are you running?
“I thought that it would be a fun way to be more involved in school, and just see if I could win it.”
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“I’m hoping to represent our class the best I can. I want to tell our story as a class.”
Candidates for Student Advisory Council Representative (SAC)
KEMPER BERNSTEIN
Why are you running?
“My plan is to run for a position each year that I’m in high school. I want to start small, so I can work my way up to higher positions. I also have an idea that would fit with the School Improvement Plan, which is what the council works on all year.”
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“I want to create a high school takeover day, where high schoolers take some of the responsibilities of administrators. This would help younger students with grade transition. Also, it would let elementary, middle, and high schoolers get to know each other. Keeping the School Improvement Plan going is also important and staying on top of what Pine View is all about.”
Candidate for Principal’s Council Representative
ELIZABETH KALMANOVICH – “Vote Elizabeth Kalmanovich for Principal’s Council”
Candidates for Sergeant at Arms
MATTHEW PRICE-PALLUEL – “Vote for me”
Why are you running?
“I am running for this position because I feel that I could do a good job keeping order at meetings. I believe that is something I could be good at.”
What do you hope to accomplish in office if elected?
“I hope to accomplish keeping order in meetings so we could become a productive student office.”
Story by TRICIA SAPUTERA, ELLA HECHLIK, BEN NICHOLSON, GWYN PETERSEN, ELIZABETH HOPKINS, RICHARD MULVIHILL and RYAN WASSERMAN