Students will vote Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week for new student council officers and class presidents. The newly elected students will hold their positions for the second semester. Candidates will be campaigning throughout the week to get the highest vote.

Junior Mohammed Abid will run unopposed for the third consecutive time as ASB President, while juniors Jenny Whyte, Neal Ketchum, and Morgan Pichinson are running for Vice President. Because nobody has chosen to run for treasurer, the student council will most likely divide the tasks of treasurer among themselves, says Student Activities Director Allye Davies. Kristen Witte will run unopposed for ASB Secretary.

Tyler Stetson, unopposed, will be the Senior Class President. Helen Shang and Sahar Raz are competing for Junior Class President. Jenna Lose and Eric Klingbeil are competing for Sophomore Class President, while Peter Economos and Christine Change are vying for Freshman Class President.

The student council intended to create a Web Master role, however no students indicated a desire for the position. The Web Master would have controlled the design of a webpage about student council that would like to the Paly homepage (paly.net). Davies will most likely run the tasks that would have been performed by the Web Master.

In order to run for an ASB officer or class president, a student must have at least a 2.5 GPA, and approval from the administration regarding the student’s tardy and participation records. Additionally, elected students must be able to enroll in the fourth period leadership class, which is advised by Davies.

In addition to the candidates, a measure will be added to the ballot this year. The outcome of the vote on this measure will determine if the student elections will be held each semester or each year. Currently, Paly has elections each semester, however, Davies feels this causes conflict and apathy within the council. Davies believes that students on the first semester council do not feel motivated to take part in planning long term events, such as prom or graduation, because they will not be in office when the event takes place. If students are on the council for the entire year, they will be able to accomplish more and will feel more motivated to stay involved in student activities.

Apathy in the student council, Davies fears, will be reflected in voter apathy. Although Davies has never experienced a Paly election in the past, she believes Paly’s open campus might distract students and make it harder to stay at school during lunch to vote.

"I have a fourth period prep, so I’m never here during lunch," junior Samantha Brown says. Brown will note likely vote this year. Student Council plans on trying to shorten lines during the election to attract more voters.

"People who truly care about the person running will vote," says Davies. "If you really care [about Paly issues], either vote or run yourself. People have a lot to say and it’s great to get involved."