Multiple events conflict with SMOB election

The election of the Student Member of the Board (SMOB), scheduled for Tuesday the 23rd and Wednesday the 24th, faced conflicts from a College Fair, three visiting Olympic athletes, report card distribution and a teaser for the school play.

The week before, students watched a videotaped question-and-answer session of the two candidates for the Student Member of the Board of Education of Montgomery County Public Schools. Students are supposed to vote for Mihyar Alnifaidy or Alex Sellinger in the small gym during their English classes on Tuesday or Wednesday.

However, a number of events scheduled for that week could cause huge problems. English teacher Dee D'Angelo expected to have no students in her 4th period class to take to the small gym. "My kids have three conflicting events," she said.

On Tuesday, many 11th-grade students went to the Montgomery County Agricultural Field Grounds in Gaithersburg to attend the College Fair, where hundreds of college representatives set up booths to interest students in their school. Students departed on busses at 9:30 a.m. and returned around 12:30, missing periods 3, 5A, and 5B.

Also, three members of the U.S. 2002 Winter Olympics team visited at Blair from 9:00 to 10:00. All students on a fall, winter, or spring sports team will be invited to the assembly (see related story, Olympians visit Blair).

Students went to their homeroom classes tomorrow after 5B to receive their third quarter report cards. The homeroom time usually lasts about ten minutes, from 12:43 to 12:53. Five English classes were supposed to vote during that time period, but the voting process was fast enough to avoid a major backlog.

Blair's spring play, "She Loves Me," presented teasers during 5A and 5B on Thursday, increasing the potential for schedule conflicts.

To further complicate matters, Montgomery County used the SMOB election to test a new voting system. After the ballot recounts in the 2000 presidential election, Montgomery County developed a new, fully-computerized voting system. The system uses ID cards that a voter picks up when he or she register and then swipes into an ATM-like slot in the voting booth.

According to D'Angelo, students were able to vote during their lunch on Wednesday if they missed their English class on Tuesday.

Blair's freshmen, sophomore, and junior elections were rescheduled to the week of April 29 due to a Magnet field trip last Friday. Students will vote for class officers after watching campaign speeches in their English classes on the 29th and 30th.