Class Marshal Voting Begins for Seniors

Exclamation points are almost never a good sign, so when an e-mail to the class of 2008 yesterday used three in a row, disaster seemed imminent.

Around noon yesterday, the Harvard Alumni Association, which organizes the Class Marshal elections for the senior class, accidentally gave the Class of 2008 the ability to vote in the Class of 2009’s elections.

HAA Senior Class Coordinator Alexandra Monti said that the two e-mail lists had been combined for an earlier purpose, causing the mistake.

Both classes received e-mails with a link to the online ballot and passwords to allow them to log in and vote.

The HAA then sent a follow-up email to the class of 2008 asking them: “Please don’t vote!!!”

Punctuation aside, Monti said that the mistake “will not in any way” affect the process of tallying the votes.

For the past five Class Marshal elections, the HAA has used Microsoft Excel to compare the ID numbers of those who have voted to those in the senior class to ensure there are no duplicate votes. This process can also be used to catch votes by people not in the voting class and should eliminate any votes by the class of 2008.

The missent e-mail is, according to Monti, “not even really a blip on our radar.”

Despite this mishap, the Marshal elections are running smoothly.

Sixty-one students are competing for 16 spots in the first round of elections, which closes tomorrow at midnight. The top 16 then enter the second round of elections, which will ultimately yield eight Class Marshals, who will be responsible for organizing events for seniors during Commencement and subsequent alumni gatherings.

Potential Marshals said they were excited about the chance to remain involved with the Class of 2009 after graduation.

Lumumba B. Seegars ’09, a potential Marshal from Dunster House, said he saw the position as an opportunity to “stay in touch with my class and keep people in touch with each other.”

Other Marshal candidates said they saw the position as a way to express their gratitude to the College.

“I would love to do this for my class, and, I mean, it’s really just giving back to this specific class and to Harvard,” said Brittany L. Lin ’09. “I love being a senior, and I loved being here for the past three years.”

Margaret M. Wang ’09, another potential Marshal, called the opportunity “a fun way to give back.”

Despite their enthusiasm, the race has not involved much competition yet.

“It will be nice, but I mean, if I don’t win, it’s obviously not the end of the world,” Seegars said.

Lin said she would begin campaigning for herself if she made it past this first round.

“I might send out an e-mail after the first round if I make the cut, just to let people know I’m running,” she said.

Seniors who are not running said they were not as invested in the upcoming election as those with a title at stake in the proceedings.

“I’m really just going to vote for people I know,” said Spring Greeney ’09.