Emery Choi
College/Year: Branford ’07
Hometown: Vienna, Va.
Major: History and International Studies
Emery Choi ’07 has had a long, intimate relationship with the YCC, and as president, intends to continue implementing programs that engage students in the process.
“One of the things that sets me apart from the other candidates is that I’ve got that institutional knowledge that makes things happen,” he said. “I’m the only candidate who has that experience.”
Choi currently serves as YCC treasurer and helped to found the Committee for Campus-Wide Activities and the Club Sports Advisory Board. He also worked to bring performers Ludacris and Ben Folds to campus for this year’s upcoming Spring Fling.
In addition to working to coordinate the activities of the different committees that operate under the YCC, Choi said continued work on financial aid changes and dining hall improvements would be among his top priorities as YCC president.
“Financial aid remains important to me,” he said. “I think I’ve shown a dedication to that in the past, and I want to continue to push for that next year.”
Working on financial aid changes is a multi-year process, Choi said, and he hopes to use his knowledge of how change has been effected in the past to push for more improvements in the future.
Stephen Fedele
College/Year: Morse ’07
Hometown: Glen Ellyn, Ill.
Major: Mathematics and Applied Physics
Stephen Fedele ’07 — or “RSteve,” as he is known among campaign insiders — has a progressive, five-pronged platform to revamp the YCC and the University.
Among the top items on Fedele’s agenda are building renovations, curriculum revisal and increased student activism.
As part of his initiatives to revitalize campus architecture, Fedele proposes to overhaul Swing Space.
“I will destroy Swing Space,” he said. “It knows why.”
Fedele will also push for universal key card access on campus, as a measure of convenience.
Fedele wishes to take a proactive role at the helm of the YCC, planning to use his leadership to effect social change. He believes that the YCC should go beyond organizing campus-wide events and should consider problems on the national scale.
“The YCC shouldn’t just be about Spring Fling, Fall Show and all the other stupid things that they do,” he said. “As president, I will address the nation’s chicken problem.”
Fedele said he is concerned that chickens pose a threat to humans, because they outnumber humans and if they chose to rise up that would be detrimental to the American economy and general well-being. Fedele also said he thinks the University should also divest from Belgium.
Bill Fishel
College/Year: Calhoun ’08
Hometown: Greenwood Village, Co.
Major: Political Science and Philosophy
Bill Fishel ’08 anchors his campaign on three major issues: expanding the nascent Campus Cash program, addressing the issue of residential college inequality, and increasing communication between students and the YCC.
Campus Cash — which Fishel spearheaded — allows students to create a debit account on their student IDs using flex bucks and Eli bucks, which can then be used to purchase goods in the area.
“I was able to do that by dropping the processing fee from 18 percent to 10 percent,” Fishel said.
Fishel said he also wishes to increase parity between the residential colleges and allow students to have more equal access to amenities around Yale.
“You get into Yale,” he said. “You don’t get into a specific residential college at Yale.”
Increased communication between the YCC and students is essential, Fishel said. Fishel proposes monthly or bimonthly meetings with heads of undergraduate organizations.
Fishel believes he is qualified in large part due to his experience. He is a member of the Dining Advisory and Residential Inequality committees, as well as the Committee for Campus-wide Activities, Calhoun College Council and the Freshman Class Council. Fishel is also a co-founder of Guntherpalooza at Yale.
Wells O’Byrne
College/Year: Saybrook ’07
Hometown: Eugene, Ore.
Major: History
Wells O’Byrne ’07 said continuing the push for changes to the University’s financial aid policies and working to improve the quality of the non-Berkeley residential college dining hall food will be among his top priorities if elected as president of the YCC.
A reduction in students’ required self-help contributions, expanding opportunities for work study in public service, and a reevaluation of international students’ travel allowance are the areas to which Yale should devote future increases in financial aid, said O’Byrne, who has worked to increase the travel allowance for financial aid students this year as a YCC representative.
Expansion of the Yale Sustainable Food Project to Yale’s 11 other residential college dining halls is another of O’Byrne’s major goals. He said a survey last fall revealed that 90 percent of Yale students would like to see the YSFP grow.
“Many expressed very significant grievances with the quality of the dining hall food in the non-Berkeley residential colleges,” he said.
Among his other achievements, O’Byrne listed a successful campaign to encourage the University to adopt a policy calling for lower greenhouse gas emissions. He said he will use his position as YCC president to continue his drive to make Yale more environmentally friendly.
Larry Wise
College/Year: Morse ’08
Hometown: Clemmons, N.C.
Major: Mathematics and Political Science
As president, Larry Wise ’08 said he plans to focus on financial aid reform, improvements to campus security and residential college equality.
Wise said that he would like to increase financial aid to middle-class families.
“I think if we’re looking at a way to target the most Yale students and make us the most attractive to potential students, bumping up financial aid to middle class would be the best and most feasible way to do it,” Wise said.
Wise also proposes to offer more assistance for rape and sexual violence victims and increase campus awareness about the existence of sexual assaults at Yale.
As chair of the YCC Security Committee, Wise has advocated for improved security measures, including better lighting, more bus service, and additional patrols.
Reducing wait times at Yale University Health Services and promoting sustainability are among the other goals on Wise’s list.
“These goals are significant and feasible,” Wise said.
In addition to co-chairing this year’s Community Service Day, Wise is a member of the Committee for Campus-wide Activities, the current president of the Morse College Council and Yale’s head tour guide.
— Candidate profiles compiled by Carrie Lynn and Cullen Macbeth.