Currently, the 2016 U.S. presidential election is in full force and proving to be unique from any other election in history. Things aren’t so different at John Jay. In past years, student council and campus congress elections have flown under the radar. For many positions, students ran unopposed, and when a choice actually had to be made it was typically a landslide victory and involved little to no campaigning.

This year, it seems as if a record amount of students are getting involved and vying for victory. Students, for all positions, are campaigning for votes in any way that they can. The tech savvy are photoshopping themselves into popular or funny photos. The artistic are making posters and hanging them around the school. And, the sociable are handing out candy in the halls, however, not before they are promised a vote. Some students are even making humorous campaign videos to rally support.

Even though students are having fun with the campaigning, they are still acknowledging the work and commitment that they will be required from them if they win. Class officers will be in charge of lots of student life events that can shape the high school experiences of their peers. Student council representatives will organize things such as homecoming, scavenger hunts, fundraisers, and of course junior and senior proms. Campus congress representatives will get to work with administration and relay ideas that students have.

In addition to this year’s election hype, the voting process has changed. In past years, the voting was done in all social studies classes on slips of paper. This time around, the voting has been shifted to an online survey. Voting is open on specific days, and all students can access the voting through echalk. This has its pros and cons. It has the clear benefit of being environmentally friendly by saving hundreds of pieces of paper with the digital shift, but the fact of the matter is that by not plainly handing the ballots to students, many students will simply chose not to vote. For example, in the Junior Class, only 157 students voted out off the approximately 280 within the grade.

Election results were announced on Tuesday morning and are currently posted on echalk.