Ready to Run
So You Want to Be a State Officer: Part III
S
o you think you might
want to be a VJCL Officer,
but you don’t know
where to start. This series
of articles will explain the
constitutional requirements,
the duties of each office, how
to build your qualifications,
and help get you ready to
run in the fall. In this final
installment, we’ll go over the
rules and requirements for
running for office, as well as
a breakdown of the process.
1.
Consider running.
Why do you want to
be an officer? What
skills do you have? And
seriously: read the manual.
Or the constitution. Hope-
fully both.
4
The requirements to run
for VJCL Office are simple,
but they’re important; make
sure you’ve got all these
boxes checked before you pre-
file. The first requirement
is that you must be taking
a classics course (Greek or
Latin) or have finished all
classics courses offered by
your school.
The second requirement
is that you must be able to
finish all of your term while
in high school. This means
that if you want to run, you
need to do it in junior year
or earlier. It also means that
you can’t run (yet) if you’re in
middle school right now.
So, let’s say you meet all
the requirements, how do you
run for office in Virginia?
Pre-file
The first step in the pro-
cess is pre-filing. This is done
by filling out and submitting
the form in the VJCL Man-
ual. The pre-file deadline is
Thursday, October 24th. Im-
portant note: don’t discuss
your intention to run with
2.
Talk to your teachers.
They know you well
and
want
to
support you! They might
also have some advice for
this demanding endeavour.
(You need them to sign
some forms, too.)
anyone other than the VJCL
board or members of your
chapter. If a member of your
chapter shares your inten-
tion to run with a member
of another chapter, that also
counts as pre-campaigning;
be wise about who needs to
know. See the manual for full
details on the pre-campaign-
ing prohibition.
Nominations Committee
At the Nominations Com-
mittee meeting (NomCom),
which happens in the early
afternoon of the first day of
convention, each candidate
has chance to give a speech
to the voting delegates.
Also, floor nominations are
accepted for any office where
there are fewer than two pre-
filed candidates. NomCom
kicks off the campaigning
process.
Midvete Assembly
At the Midvete Assembly,
which is the first assembly
on the second day, each
candidate is introduced by a
friend and gives their speech
3.
Prepare for your
campaign!
Write
a speech, craft a
winning slogan, and print
some flyers and
YOU
stickers. Turn on HER ARE
E
your charm and put
yourself out there!
to the whole VJCL. Choose a
friend you trust!
Voting
Voting happens on the
morning of the second day of
convention. As a candidate,
you can encourage your
school’s voting delegates to
go out and vote, but there’s
nothing for you personally
to do. Candidates may not
be present in the voting area
until the voting period has
ended.
Good luck!
Jack Purple
VJCL Parliamentarian