Archive:Board12/Elections

=Election Calendar=


 * Tuesday, August 7, 2012 - Voting begins
 * Tuesday, August 14, 2012 - Voting ends

=How the Board works=

Each board seat is responsible for coordinating one of the below working groups. Some working groups may be just one person, in which case the coordinator would just take on all of its responsibility. But ideally we will have a healthy group of volunteers at the national level, and the board will simply be in charge of making sure that things run smoothly. Having a board member coordinating each of these groups ensures that there is some "last line of defense" and a clear set of responsibilities that ensure that each of these roles are filled.

Each role will be voted on individually.

After the election, one new member of the Board will be nominated as Point person. The Point Person is responsible for coordinating the Board.

Board positions

 * Treasurer
 * Corporation status, finances
 * Outreach & Campaign Coordinator
 * Survey for regional, national, and global campaign ideas/projects
 * Alumni reachout/spreadsheet
 * Reach out with nonprofits
 * Chapter & New Member Coordination
 * Mentors (esp. Alum!)
 * Communicate with faculty advisory board
 * Manages chapter database
 * Can have a couple individuals helping this person, 'ambassadors'
 * Conference Coordinator
 * Lead organizer for annual SFC conference
 * Technical Coordinator / Webmaster
 * Lead maintainer, developer for all technical needs

=Candidates and platform statements=

(Candidates are ordered alphabetically.)

Jennifer Baek (New York Law School)
Nominated for:
 * Outreach & Campaign Coordinator
 * Conference Coordinator

"I am a 3rd year student at New York Law School, studying Constitutional law and Intellectual Property law and policy. To me, SFC stands for the potential for what collaboration and active advocacy can accomplish; we are not just an organization but a larger social movement with a diverse host of members that represent an underutilized yet still powerful voice in our society. My experiences in educational and community outreach have taught me how critical these things are to the growth of the SFC movement. Throughout the past year, I have worked with a group of first year law students to teach them how to succeed in law school. Additionally, I have made individual efforts to reach out to the creative community to educate musicians on the spectrum of their rights and decisional choices under and outside the boundaries of traditional copyright law. Using my experiences in education and outreach, I would work to ensure that individuals have access to the information about the organization, contact with a responsive community and support network, and minimized barriers of entry into this community. Outreach, however, should not only educate and inform, but also provide tools for proactivity. In this new position, I hope to strengthen the network of chapters we have, collaborate to formulate effective campaigns, coordinate collective action, and go above and beyond the goals we set on achieving. It has been a challenge in the past keeping the organization motivated, but with strong, dedicated, and intensely organized leaders, we can work together to tap into the potential that SFC holds, and be free culture activists together. It would be a great privilege to be on the board of SFC, and above all else, it's incredible to be a part of this community and network for change."

Preston Bennett (University of Southern California)
Nominated for:
 * Treasurer
 * Conference coordinator

"Hello all. My name is Preston Bennett. I am a Computer Science/Physics double major and a Computer Security minor at the University of Southern California. I am currently working as an assistant director for a summer camp in Texas for teaching kids of all ages how to design various video games or programming languages as well as a music teacher in the Houston area as I have for the past 5 years. As someone with much experience in and currently working in various social, communicative environments, I know I would be a great choice for the treasurer position. Being a board member of any organization requires an extensive amount of communication both with the other board members as well as the members of the organization those board members represent, and I have the communication skills to effectively and efficiently handle any task that the board decides to take on, all while considering the desires of the members of the Students for Free Culture all across the country. Of course, being treasurer obviously involves handling money, and I am definitely no stranger to that. I began working at a Sonic Drive-In at the age of 16 and immediately learned the basics of money handling. As time went on, I worked my way up, eventually learning about the more important aspects of keeping costs down and profits high while training to become an assistant manager. Even at my current job, allotting budgets appropriately is a huge deal, both to the company and myself, and I pride myself on always staying under budget while maximizing output. Whether you choose to vote for me or not, I'd like to thank you for reading and for your voting consideration!"

Jake Brown-Steiner (New York Law School)
Nominated for:
 * Chapter & New Member Coordinator

"Hello all. My name is Jake Brown-Steiner and I am a third year law student at New York Law School. I came to law school interested in intellectual property and technology law and through my coursework and fellowship at the Institute of Information Law and Policy, I have been able to immerse myself in many free culture related issues. I began my involvement with SFC last year after attending the SFC Conference at NYU. There, the other New York Law candidates and I discovered an organization in line with many of our interests, and were inspired to start our own SFC chapter.  It was quickly apparent how hard it could be to get students involved in our chapter, though it was thrilling to see a responsive community of other chapter leaders available to work with us.  I believe that getting students and new chapters involved in our organization is key to SFC's success. As Chapter & New Member Coordinator, I would do everything I can to help new chapters get on their feet as well as facilitate communication between chapters to help achieve our common goals. As an organization, Students for a Free Culture has great potential to make a real difference in the world and I would be honored to have the opportunity to take a leadership role within this organization."

Firas Al Kafri (Balqa Applied University)
Nominated for:
 * Outreach & Campaign Coordinator
 * Chapter & New Member Coordinator

"In my home country the free culture philosophy is sadly still kind of new and so I'm planning to:
 * 1) Get tech people involved in the free software philosophy as they are totally kept away from that philosophy by the educational system.
 * 2) Get ordinary people to know about the free culture and it's importance in multiple levels  (art, journalism).
 * 3) Running a few campaigns and getting people to know about the free culture through events.
 * 4) Trying to deliver the latest news in the native language through a special local website."

Adelaida McIntire (Hampshire College)
Nominated for:
 * Outreach & Campaign Coordinator
 * Chapter & New Member Coordinator
 * Conference Coordinator

"I am a Hampshire College Div Free who's focused on free culture and free software as it relates to feminist critiques of power. I was a signer for our LibrePlanet/Students for Free Culture chapter. I've worked for many years on the advocacy of free cultural works, free software, and many related issues since completing my internship at the Free Software Foundation in 2009 and Electronic Frontier Foundation in 2010.

"I am fascinated with the ways that gender and sexuality inform a social human existence. In particular, I am interested in the role that technology and sexuality play in creating gendered identities and the ways that this harms and/or helps create more fluid expressions. As new technology becomes more and more intertwined in peoples lives, the more it becomes apparent that privacy, free speech, and equal access to this technology needs to be fought for.

"I am committed to making sure that Students for Free Culture is an active and welcoming organization to advocates regardless of race, class, gender identity, physical ability, or sexual orientation. Free culture is an important issue of social justice and we need to address that if we want to grow beyond a small fight for 'the right to remix' which is already insular to media literate people with the privilege and access to media creation technologies. Our language and our materials need to bring in more people with more dire concerns about power, privacy, and speech."

Danny Piccirillo (Hampshire College)
Nominated for:
 * Tech Coordinator

"I am a Hampshire College student studying digital technology and media as a liberating force. I am the chair of the Hampedia committee which oversees all operations of our school's wiki as well as a signer for our LibrePlanet/Students for Free Culture chapter. I've worked for many years on the advocacy of free cultural works, free software, and many related issues including having been an intern at the Free Software Foundation in 2010.

My goal is to turn Students for Free Culture into a highly active participation powerhouse. This means streamlining the process for newcomers to get involved and start their own creative actions and increasing recognition of them on free social media platforms. I am committed to creating a usable and accessible web platform without compromising our ideals in the process. Relaunching our wiki will only be the first step in this. I will help the web team evenly distribute responsibilities to make sure everything we need continues to run smoothly.

The biggest part of improving our efficiency will be addressing weaknesses that make it anything less than a breeze to get involved. Currently, the process for setting up new chapters and participating in our discussions is confusing. I will work with the web team to make sure starting any action with us is clear and easy for anyone who has a good idea and some time to work on it. "