Class Council outlines plans for new year

by Caitlin McGrail
THE POST

A week after its first happy hour, the Ohio University Senior Class Council is making plans to lead seniors on their class trip and pick a class gift and commencement speaker.

After a tumultuous election Spring Quarter, the elected officers - President Gigi Jameel, Vice President Mike Mattler and Treasurer Lauren Dikis - are starting to tackle the five main responsibilities spelled out in the council's rules and procedures. Their duties include securing the commencement speaker, organizing the senior class trip, carrying out the Senior Class Happy Hour and other social activities, selecting and purchasing the senior class gift and addressing other needs of the class.

The planning sessions of council executives - all of the Revolution party - come after campaigning students questioned the manner in which the Spring Quarter elections were conducted. Three elected candidates from one of the parties running - the TOGA party - refused to accept their positions because Jameel was elected president.

The council leaders this summer named Amy Owens council secretary, filling the final executive position

Jameel said she will fulfill her campaign promise to use OU faculty contacts to secure former South African President Nelson Mandela as the commencement speaker. She would consider securing U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright as a speaker if Mandela could not attend.

Jameel also promised seniors during the spring campaign that her party would plan the senior class trip to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. She confirmed Mardi Gras will be this year's destination.

"We've looked into a couple hotels and talked to some travel agents," Jameel said. "It'll probably be about $230 for the four nights, and it'll be the weekend before Fat Tuesday."

The first weekly Senior Class Happy Hour, a traditional event designed to raise money for the senior gift, generated $119 at The Pigskin Sports Bar & Grill, 38 N. Court St. The event will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, but locations will change, Jameel said. Guests pay a $1 entrance fee to help pay for the gift.

"The Pigskin's great, and they're really good to us, but we want to be more creative with it and hold it different places," said Brittany Treacy, council's vice president of social activities. "We've talked about pizza at Courtside and theme parties, too."

Last year's council has not finalized its class gift plans yet, Senior Class Adviser Ralph Amos said. The senior leaders decided they wanted to beautify the garden area in front of Baker University Center. They didn't announce the gift until commencement because they wanted it to be a surprise. But this year's executives said they would like to allow seniors to help choose the class gift.

"We'd really like to consult with the senior class," Dikis said. "We're hoping an e-mail survey will work so we can get a great gift to give back."