Fifteen Elis submitted the required student signatures and candidacy statements Tuesday to launch their campaigns for a spot on the Yale College Council Executive Board.

Though some predicted the field would widen over the weekend after YCC President Rich Tao ’10 announced he would not seek re-election, only two students — Junior Class Council Chairman Ryan Beauchamp ’10 and YCC Treasurer Jon Wu ’11 — have decided to make a bid for president. Two candidates have also entered the vice presidential race: Timothy Dwight College YCC Representative Abigail Cheung ’11 and Silliman College YCC Representative Brian Levin ’11.

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The ballot, released by YCC election officials Tuesday afternoon, shows a field that is thinner at the top of the ticket than in recent years but features larger fields for the positions of treasurer and secretary.

Before serving as JCC chairman, Beauchamp was the treasurer of the Sophomore Class Council. He has never represented his college, Jonathan Edwards, on the Yale College Council, though both the SCC and JCC are affiliated with the YCC. Beauchamp said he has attended YCC meetings and events over the past few years, fulfilling the requirement that presidential candidates attend at least three YCC meetings prior to the opening of polls.

Wu served as Freshman Class Council chair during the spring of 2008 and also was a Saybrook College YCC representative his freshman year. As YCC treasurer this year, he has focused on initiatives to distribute free planners and notebooks on campus, arrange student discounts at local New Haven restaurants, and organize Eli Days, a YCC–New Haven outreach program for local high school students.

In interviews, both candidates said next year will be a pivotal one for the council, given the recent integration of YCC and the Yale Student Activities Committee. Both candidates’ platforms stress the importance of continuing to push administrators to implement academic minors and gender-neutral housing.

Beauchamp’s platform also emphasizes raising the profile of Yale’s music scene with the newly established YCC Concert Committee and making dining options more flexible at retail outlets like Durfee’s.

“At the end of the day, I put my platform together to represent student interests,” Beauchamp said. “Next year is a really important year. A lot of issues are being decided on.”

Wu’s platform focuses more on reforming the YCC itself. In particular, he mentions improving support for the JCC and SCC as well as revisiting the YCC’s oversight of student appointments to University standing committees.

“I’m really just looking forward to reaching out to the student body and discussing my goals for the council next year,” Wu said. “Elections are a great time to get a sense of what Yalies want.”

The race to replace Wu as treasurer will feature one junior, Colin Adamo ’10, and two Freshman Class Council members, Yanni Legmpelos ’12 and Adam Thomas ’12, this semester’s FCC chair.

The most contested race will be that of secretary, with four candidates: Jonathan Edwards College YCC Representative Mike Bronfin ’11, Rustin Fakheri ’12, Jackson Faust ’10 and Victoria Gilcrease ’12. (Fakheri is a staff reporter for the News.)

The race for the newly created director of events position, which will replace the position of Yale Student Activities Committee chair will feature two candidates: Calhoun YSAC Representative and Spring Fling Co-Chair Natasha Sarin ’11 and Silliman YSAC Representative Mathilde Williams ’11. On Sunday, members of the YCC and YSAC overwhelmingly voted to eliminate YSAC and replace it with a committee, led by YCC, that will henceforth organize the annual Spring Fling concert.

The election for Undergraduate Organizations Funding Committee chair will be between Erin Fackler ’11 and Murong Yang ’11. Both candidates are current members of UOFC, though Fackler is studying abroad in China this semester and will be represented at mandatory meetings by a proxy.

The candidates will meet Thursday evening to vie for the endorsements of various student organizations. Voting will begin on Monday and end the next day.