Anticipate the halls of Stroudsburg being filled with posters exclaiming: “Vote!” Yes, class and club elections rightAi??aroundAi??the corner.

More intimate elections are already underway with FBLA voting on officers for next year, with other clubs soon to follow. Model Congress, Mock Trial, Key Club, Ai??National Honor Society, SADD, and Student Government hold elections. Ai??However, candidates for club offices do not have to campaign like those for class office.

With the class elections coming up, several students have already announced their candidacy. Ai??The race for President of the Class ofAi??2016 potentially has five candidates. Ai??The race for Student Representative to the School Board is also heating up.Ai??ByAi??focusing more on politics than prom, current Representative Alex Reincke has redefined theAi??role of the Student Representative, thrusting it into the limelight, which has created a great deal of interest in the position. Every electoral position for the juniorAi??class has at least three students running.

The sophomore class hasAi??fewerAi??candidates running for eachAi??office, probably due to the success of itsAi??current officers. Ai??Taylor Flanagan, the current President,Ai??is running unopposed for re-election.

“We’re raising a lot of money, we’re having a lot of fundraisers, and they donate,”Ai??said sophomore IgorAi??Wadolkowski. “I think we’re going to have a good prom.”

The increasingly competitive races for the upcoming senior class are fueled primarily by the goal of a well-funded prom. Ai??During last year’s debate for the current junior class,Ai??it was revealed thatAi??the class had raised less thanAi??$100 that year.Ai??Ai??This year, the goal is the same: to raise enough money for a successful prom and graduation. ButAi??it’s the last chance for the class and its officers to make up for lost time.

“It’s crucial when electing our next president to understand that we can’t just elect our friends in,”Ai??said junior Kevin Bergen. “At this point, we’re very much in need of money and we’re going to have a really bad prom unless we elected someone that’s very capable of raising money.”

If you would like to submit a letter to the editor in support of a candidate, click the link at the top right of The Mountaineer homepage.

Letters must:

• Be less than 300 words
• Not include personal attacks
• Include the author’s name

The candidates are as follows:

Candidates for Representative to the School Board 2016

• Tyler Boback
• Ben Burch
• Erik Diemer
• Cody Yarnall

Class Office Candidates for 2016

President

• Chase Bartholomew
• Kevin Hughes
• Pranitha Pothuri
• Justin Stanton

Vice President

• Connor Chalfant
• Natalia McLaren
• Crystal Phillips
• Aikaterini Stylianides

Treasurer

• Isabella Llaudes
• Sam Tepper
• Liam Weiss

Secretary

• Erinni Binikos
• Tereya Edwards
• Abby Hendry
• Stuart Yaden

Class Office Candidates for 2017

President

• Taylor Flanagan

Vice President

• Sydney Fritz
• Chris Vo

Treasurer

• Lauren Perez
• Brett Yarnall

Secretary

• Lena Morella
• Anthony Wong