Pitch Online reporter Ian Green spoke with SGA Presidential candidates Cameron Keyani, Jake Karlin, and Arlo Perez to find out a little more about their goals.
Why are you the best candidate? What inspired you to run for SGA?
CK: I’m the best candidate because love Walter Johnson and would never fail her. I am creative, funny and hard working, and I know I can do the job better than anyone else. As for inspiration, I suppose that my black horse run and subsequent victory in the election for Junior Class President inspired me to be a more active member of my class., and what better way to do that than to continue my reign of terror for another year.
JK: I am the best candidate because I have experience running different things, and I am committed to this school. I have over 350 hours of community service, and am the leading volunteer for a local charity, MVK, and a charity in sussex county Delaware, the Joshua m Freeman foundation. I have supervised and ran events that have brought over 1000 people.
AP: To understand why I am the best candidate, you have to understand the reason why I moved into the United States. My family is originally from Uruapan, a city in the southwest of Mexico. Anyone who is familiar with contemporary Mexican history is well aware that that region is one of the most affected by the ongoing “drug-war,” in which Mexico is engaged. I lived in the violence-filled area for 16 years. On my sixteenth birthday, my parents decided that they were tired; they were tired of wondering if I would come back home from school, they were tired of tolerating the phone calls threatening to abduct me if a fine was not paid, tired of living in constant fear. So when I turned 16, I was sent to Oregon. Although I was under the care of my aunt, I was mostly living by myself. It was then when I learned the real definition of responsibility.
What are you involved with at WJ?
CK: I am in Photo Club, on The Pitch, on WJ’s Its Academic! Team and have been the president of my class for the past year.
JK: I am involved with a many different clubs here at WJ, including the Ginger club, which I am the founder and acting president. I also attend many of the sporting events, homecoming events, and pennies for patients events.
AP: I am involved in athletics, as I am a runner for the cross-country team. I am involved with the art club, I am a member of the Amnesty International club, and a hungry member of the Baking Club. Also, I am a known supporter of the GSA [Gay-Straight Alliance]. I am also a member of CDI, a non-profit organization that has a partnership with WJ, and is dedicated to helping children with complicated socio-economic backgrounds. I am also a closet admirer of the Quidditch Cub and a currently inactive thespian. Although the list is short, one must have in mind that I have only been involved with WJ since last August, and that my involvement with the school will grow in time.
What do you want to accomplish?
CK: I want to be the best president ever. Not a good president, but the best. I want this year to be an unprecedented experience for all my Wildcats, and I have the drive to make it so.
JK: I know this sounds repetitive, but I want to make WJ a place where people want to be at, and a school that they can take pride in. I want people to actually cheer and have fun at pep rallies, and really enjoy prom. I want to make WJ enjoyable for everyone, not just seniors, but juniors, sophomores, and freshmen.
AP: I want to be president because, by using the experience I gained throughout my life, I can give back to those people who have made my life on the East Coast, my life at WJ, the best school and the best years I [have] ever had. I also want to be president because I am secretly a Mexican spy sent to infiltrate the American political system.
What are your qualifacations?
CK: In the words of Machiavelli, “It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.” I’m qualified because, if I were elected SGA president, I wouldn’t rest on the laurels of being in such and illustrious office, but I would prove every day that I deserve it.
JK: What puts me above my fellow candidates is the great spirit I have for this school. You will never see me not sporting the spirit week dress, or not at any of the sports games. I love my school, and I feel that no other candidate shows close to the same spirit I show.
AP: Well, that’s easy. I can speak English. Yes, I do realize that my opponents can do this as well. In fact I heard that one of my opponents can read Shakespeare… and actually understand it. However, I just want to erase any doubts in anyone’s mind. Yes, I can speak English, I learned it from watching television in English, have been using the language for the past two years, and it has only gotten my face slapped a couple dozen of times. But again, why is speaking English my reason to “Why [I am] the best candidate”? Well, I think that the most important thing in any place is communication. If the soon-to-be elected SGA president does not communicate with his fellow students, or if he simply does not care what they think, then it will be a wasted term. I believe that there is an enormous amount of potential constantly arriving into WJ, not only from the incoming freshmen, but from the diverse student body the school receives from around the world. And I believe that every single one of them has incredible potential to make WJ even better.
