Class Marshal Election Marked by Campaigning

In the past days, seniors have received countless e-mails from long-forgetton freshman acquaintances and classmates they’ve hardly met advertising their qualifications for Class Marshal—a position many say shouldn’t require campaigning in the first place.

Members of the Harvard Alumni Association said campaigning to this extent stands in sharp contrast to previous years, when the position has been decided by general reputation with little exertion on the part of the candidates.

This heightened campaigning could be due to the steady increase in interest in the position, said F. Hoopes Wampler, the director of College Alumni Programs.

“It’s a really fun job, with great perks and honorary recognition,” Wampler said. “Each year more and more people become aware of that and are interested in seeking and securing that position.”

This year, candidates preparing for the Class Marshal vote, which ends this evening, have sent mass e-mails to House lists and bought ads in The Crimson, in addition to even more than the usual postering spree.

These students have not broken any rules, since the Alumni Association does not put any restrictions on their campaigning. But some find their behavior in conflict with the spirit of the position.

“The class marshal is more of an honor than a purely elected position,” Wampler said. “You shouldn’t have to campaign. It is someone the class as a whole knows and already recognizes as their leader.”

Many candidates said they agree such campaigning efforts should be unnecessary.

“Regardless of campaign tactics, people will vote for who they’d vote for anyway,” said Paul E. Kwak ‘03, who chose not to advertise his candidacy beyond his circle of friends. “For something like Class Marshal, it’s very important to people to know the person they’re voting for.”

Students who’ve chosen to aggressively promote their candidacies, however, say such advertising shows their initiative and level of interest, and could also help introduce them to students they have not met.

They argue that since the Class Marshal’s chief responsibilities are planning senior year events and reunions, creativity and commitment—as seen in their campaigning attempts—are necessary for the position.

Joseph S. Lindhart ’03 shared an ad in yesterday’s Crimson and postered with fellow candidate Luke R. Long ’03, a move that led to speculation that they were running as a package deal.

“We’re not a ticket, or anything nefarious like that,” Lindhart said. “We just want people to know we’re good friends, and we’re interested in the job.”

But many of the 68-member pool of hopefuls say this sort of campaigning is premature. This week’s elections will only select 16 finalists, who will be whittled down to eight in the final vote next week.

“Most of the [candidates] I know aren’t politicking yet,” said Michael L. Armstrong ‘03, who is running for Class Marshal. “I just figured if I make it through the first round I’ll start networking then. School just started.”