Freshmen elections bring new faces to ASB

Mayeul Thomas

Freshman Jack Reese was one of three candidates elected to be an Ambassador on Friday Oct. 18

This year 12 freshmen competed for an Ambassador position in BHS’s Associated Student Body (ASB). The first round of elections took place on Monday, Oct. 16.

The competitors were Hanzo Watanabe, Reece Edwards, Eleanor Bacon, Esme Berger, Thijs Buning, William Dandekar, Belle Good, Alexa Hunt, Gus Lundeen, Iris Lynch, Jack Rees and Daphne Van Eyke.

The competitors have been narrowed down to Gus Lundeen, Esme Berger, Jack Rees, Hanzo Watanabe, Thijs Buning and William Dandekar. These competitors had the highest votes among all 12 freshmen.

Freshman Gus Lundeen is one of the finalists for the elections. 

“I believe I am the best option for this election because I have heard all of the freshmen’s ideas and I know exactly what you want,” said Lundeen.

“I want to give freshmen the option of what they want,” Lundeen said. “They deserve to be heard and thought of.”

Lundeen believes that freshmen are equally important as the other classes here.

“The freshmen are unheard of and I believe this is wrong,” Lundeen said. “Freshmen are as important as any junior or senior, even if we don’t have SATs and PSATs.”

Lundeen expressed how he could aid the refinement of the school community and support the freshmen here.

“I do believe I can advocate to the people, being the other ASB members, who can make those decisions.” Lundeen said. “I definitely think I can have an impact.”

Another competitor is Hanzo Watanabe. Watanabe has his campaign planned out.

“I think I can have a huge impact on this school and that I am a good candidate,” Watanabe said. 

“I’m excited to work with the other winners and the upperclassmen but I do want to enforce what the freshmen need.” 

 He thinks that the school isn’t at its full potential and he wants to improve it.

“I’m so passionate about the freshmen class and I really want to represent it,” Watanabe said. “I really think that I would be the best representative for our freshmen class.”

“I feel like this school is too junior and senior oriented,” Watanabe said. “I want to make Ballard junior, senior, sophomore and freshman oriented.”

“I want to listen to people and help them solve problems,” said Watanabe. “I think I deserve the ambassador spot and I think that I am the best choice.”

Freshman Abbey Davidson-Hooper is one of the students who were in the Performing Arts Center (PAC) on Oct. 14 to witness the speeches of all 12 candidates. 

“I’m looking for someone who will interact with the freshmen,” Davidson-Hooper said. “Not just make decisions.” 

Davidson-Hooper voiced what a qualified ambassador was to her. After listening to the speeches, she left the PAC pleased.

“I think they were really good speeches,” Davidson-Hooper said. “It seemed like they were prepared and really cared about the school.” 

The candidates’ speeches not only motivated leaders to run, but also motivated students to vote for the sake of making Ballard High School an always growing community. 

The numbers were evaluated on Friday, Oct. 18, and Watanabe, Rees, and Lundeen were elected as the three freshmen ambassadors. 

When asked about his next plans and what he is anticipating, Lundeen had optimistic answers.

“In terms of how I think I will achieve my goal, I think it will come down to making sure we have a collaborative ASB and overall school attitude,” Lundeen said. “So fostering that as much as possible by being a real representative and not just using this position to further what I may want personally.” 

Lundeen described his approach to being a student leader and improving the freshman experience at Ballard. 

“While I do love the planning and administrative process of ASB, I’m definitely most excited to see physical things come to fruition,” Lundeen said.