NEC set to put new leaders in the game

Suddenly, College senior Anne Hankey has a whole lot of time on her hands.

At tonight's Undergraduate Assembly transition meeting, Hankey, who is currently chairwoman of the Nominations and Elections Committee, will turn the reigns over to her successor -- College junior Rebecca Silberman.

The NEC, a group that runs all student government elections -- including those for Undergraduate Assembly and class boards -- and appoints students to serve on various Trustee and University committees, held its executive board elections Monday evening and will officially transition tonight.

Although the race was a close one -- current Vice Chairwoman of Nominations Tatiana Bautista and current Vice Chairwoman of Elections Melissa La Vigne vied with Silberman for the body's top post -- Hankey had positive words about the final decision.

"I am so excited for Rebecca being chair," Hankey said. "She is one of the most enthusiastic, hard-working people that I know, and I know she is going to do an exceptional job."

Silberman did not hold a senior position last academic year because she was abroad in Italy, but Hankey said that Silberman's dedication and excitement about the NEC was clear even from across the Atlantic.

"She has been calling and e-mailing me from Italy every week and really keeping abreast," Hankey said. "She has been reading all the [Daily Pennsylvanian] articles and e-mailing me with her ideas and suggestions."

But Bautista and La Vigne did not walk away empty-handed. Bautista was elected vice chairwoman of elections, and La Vigne was selected as vice chairwoman of committee administration.

The NEC Executive Board will also include Vice Chairwoman of Education Ashley Braden, Vice Chairwoman of Public Relations Jennifer Broussard, Vice Chairman of Committee Representation Eli Schlam and Secretary and Treasurer Adam Schlosser.

Hankey said she believes each NEC position is particularly well suited for its recipient.

"VCCA will be really great for Melissa, because she spent the whole year working only with students and now she gets to work with administration and faculty as well," Hankey said. "Schlam has established a lot of relationships with students, and VCCR only deals with students and their concerns."

Hankey said she is excited about the entire incoming board and has high expectations.

"They are an extremely progressive and motivated group of people, and there is no doubt in my mind that they are going to be revising a lot of old documents and working closely with the UA to establish better relations with the NEC and the UA," Hankey said. "We started a lot of new projects this year, and I have no doubt that they are going to take this above and beyond the call of duty."

Schlam said that one of his personal goals centers around improvement.

"It is going to be a great year in which we continue to reform ourselves and find better ways to do what we do," Schlam said. "It is never a good time to sit back on your laurels and rest."

In terms of rising to the occasion next year, Bautista said she already has many aspirations that all revolve around one word -- "increasing."

"Our goals are increasing student participation both for UA and class board, increasing our already amazing turnout this year and increasing candidacy of all sorts of backgrounds in next year's UA and class board elections," Bautista said.

Overall, Bautista said she is optimistic about next year.

"I believe we all have very good working relationships amongst ourselves and it is a great working group," she said. "I am very excited and believe we have a great executive board for next year."

Schlam said he, too, has high hopes for the upcoming year.

"It is a chance for us to step up and make the student government really represent the ideas of student body," Schlam said. "It is going to be a banner year for the NEC."

And Hankey spoke positively about this past school year's group.

"I think our biggest accomplishment in the last year is we really began to take ourselves seriously and do things that our bylaws and constitution tell us to do," Hankey said. "We have really started taking a leadership role in making the student government more applicable to the student body and something that students feel they can be a part of."

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