Freshmen convention brings elections to Blair

The annual freshmen SGA election convention was held for the class of 2010 yesterday. Local politicians Aaron Klein and Jamie Raskin, two guest speakers at the convention, prefaced the event.

Klein and Raskin were both Democratic candidates for the District 20 in the primary elections. Klein, who was a Blair graduate and senior class president of the class of 1994, ran but did not win for the State Delegate, and Raskin for the State Senate.

During their talk, they encouraged the freshman to vote and stressed the importance of the election.

Raskin, who won his primary election on Sept. 13, received 67 percent of the vote. He discussed his goals if elected, which included providing a "first class education" for public schools, abolishing the death penalty and cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. He believed that the importance of elections applies to students as well, saying that the students' "involvement will determine the character of [their] class."

Klein, however, began by asking the freshman, "Do I see any Blazers in the crowd?" Throughout the speech, Klein reiterated the "importance of coming together." He said that the SGA's previous teamwork enabled the student government have influence over the school's decision, telling the story of when the SGA convinced the Board of Education about building the new school at Blair's current location.

Klein also said that Blair has a "history and tradition of involvement," giving examples such as Sebastian Johnson, a 2006 Blair graduate who served as Student Member of the Board of Education.