The six Senate positions not filled in last Spring's ASPC election were finally determined Thursday, as four out of the six races came down to a run-off. Grayson Schaffer beat out Conor Freidersdorf for North Campus Representative, Adam Rick defeated Andrew Floyd in the race for South Campus Representative, Tanya Laguerre won the position of Sophomore Class President, beating Sean Gilbert, and Mike Rush defeated Tony Forte for First Year President. In the only two races not requiring run-offs the candidates ran unopposed. Jake Oken-Berg is the Junior Class President, and Omayra Ortega the Off Campus Representative.

The election policy is that a candidate must have a majority to win, or 50% of the votes plus one. Neil Gerard explained the high incidence of run-offs as attributable to this policy. "The minute you have three [people in a race, as there were in each of these], it's pretty much guaranteed to go to a run-off," said Gerard. He noted that one of this weeks races came close to being decided on Tuesday, but declined to say which one.

According to Gerard, the voting turnout was slightly lower than usual this semester. "The number of candidates is directly proportional to the number of voters," he said. Both the low number of candidates for each position and the two uncontested races were probably contributors to the low voter turnout. ASPC President Brian Andrews noted, however, that there was a "big turnout for South Campus, particularly of first years and sophomores."

The new officers have big plans for the coming year, with common issues including finding a new time for ID 1, revising ID 15, controlling the shutdown of campus parties, and making the student course review mandatory. Most officers also stressed keeping open lines of communication between themselves and the student body, with many suggesting frequent forums or discussions in which students could communicate ideas and opinions to their representatives.

Shaffer, who has worked on J-Board but has no experience on Senate, ran on a platform largely regarding online programming. He is going to donate his online information exchange program for students, www.freebai.com, to the school, and to create an online list of ASPC budget expenditures and forum for student input.

Rick, the new South Campus Representative, who served as a member of the Curriculum Committee last year, plans to work to change the time of ID1 and to review ID 15. He wants both to make the student course review mandatory and to get official ASPC involvement in reviewing faculty being considered for tenure. As Representative, he also plans to hold office hours, from nine to ten thirty pm on Tuesdays, in the Student Offices of the Campus Center.

Laguerre, Sophomore Class President, and new to the ASPC, plans to create a sophomore class council. She wants "a group of sophomores that are willing to enhance, improve, or create solutions to various problematic aspects of our school/community. This council would include reps for entertainment, transportation, academics, dorm life, and multicultural issues and events. The council would address issues such as the availability of transportation to get off campus, racial sensitivity in classrooms, great parties that appeal to non-drinkers as well as drinkers, and solving problems like efficient lines outside and inside the dining halls."

Rush, Freshman Class President, is mainly concerned with "keeping people informed." He plans first to set up a class committee and is looking for "enthusiastic people" who want to help. His goals include sending out emails before and after Senate meetings to get input and having open discussion panels open to whomever is interested.

Oken-Berg, the new Junior Class President, who served on Senate last year is concerned with issues regarding the IDs and and the student course review. He stresses the importance of actually achieving these goals. "If you don't have a record of getting things done," he said, "promises don't matter."

Oken-Berg's own background includes such a record. Last year he attended a meeting with Gerard, Michael Saffitz (head of the College Town Committee), and Mayor Rosenthal (of Claremont) to discuss the problem of campus party shutdowns by the city. "[The mayor] was very sympathetic and I believed her," he said. "I don't want to let the ball drop on this issue."

Off Campus Representative Omayra Ortega, who ran as the unopposed incumbent, has a lot of issues she hopes to address this year. A major need is new funding for Safe Rides, whose previous sponsor, Foothill Beverage, is no longer willing to finance the program. Another plan is to continue the driver's education program at Pomona, which she started last semester. "There is a need [for this program]," she said, "and I think it should be a continuing program at Pomona."

In addition, Ortega said she might sit on the College Town Committee, which she is interested in because she thinks that, "Claremont is not a college town, but it could be."