How can you use your talents and skill set to improve the NJCL to make it the best that it can be? That is precisely the question that candidates endeavored to answer during this year’s national board elections. What unites all candidates to national office is the desire to give back to an organization that gives so much and is a profound influence in their lives. In a way, each platform is a candidate’s way of saying thank you to the NJCL, and this year, JCLers had the privilege of listening to fifteen of them.
Because of the virtual format imposed on this year’s convention, the election process had to be modified, which meant that there was no Nominations Committee. As such, all fifteen pre-filed candidates were allowed to move onto general elections, regardless of the number of candidates running for each office. For the office of editor, two candidates ran: Irene Calderon from Ohio and Aidan Gregg from Indiana. For the office of historian, there was only one candidate: Vivian Wu from New York. On the other hand, five candidates ran for the post of parliamentarian: Talha Ali from Georgia, Luc Azar-Tanguay from Massachusetts, Annie Class from Florida, J.B. Lilley from Texas, and Ben Lorenz from Wisconsin. Similar to the office of historian, the office of communications coordinator only had one candidate running: Nolan Heinrich from North Carolina. One candidate also ran for the office of second vice president: Lyndie Reining from South Carolina. For the office of first vice president, three candidates ran: Raees Kamboj from Nevada, Caleb Lee from New Hampshire, and Jack Purple from Virginia. Finally, last but far from least, the office of president had two candidates running: Laila Abolfathi from California and Daniel Newgarden from Illinois.
Candidates recorded a two-minute campaign speech in place of the one they would have delivered during General Assembly III, and this speech was one of the campaign materials posted on the NJCL website. While the GA speech is usually quite formal, with candidates dressed smartly in dresses and suits, this year’s recorded speech was much more relaxed. For instance, to show his JCL pride, a candidate dressed in a toga for his speech! Candidates also could add editing effects to their videos, if they chose to. To this end, a couple of candidates sped up the sound of their voices and displayed subtitles at the bottom, cleverly putting more content in their speeches without going over the time limit. One candidate had her slogan displayed in glowing letters above and below her face. Many candidates had visual displays and slides that went along with their spoken words. There were also no restrictions as to where speeches had to be recorded, so one candidate strolled among the trees and flowers in his backyard while orating, and another recorded her speech in a placid beach. These examples definitely showcase the creativity of candidates, a trait that would serve them well if elected.
As a substitute for Candidates’ Open Forum, an event of an in-person convention in which candidates are asked questions about their campaigns, 2019-2020 NJCL Parliamentarian Faith Woods interviewed candidates over a Zoom call, along with the 2019-2020 national officer who had the position the candidates were running for. These interviews lasted from five to eight minutes, and
Fall 2020 · Torch: U.S. · ELECTION REPORT
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"These [videos] showcase the creativity of candidates, a trait that would serve them well if elected."
ELECTION
Irene Calderon
NJCL Editor 2020-2021
REPORT
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