…camp happened.

Another bi-weekly period, another Mini-Brain election.  The roster was a familiar slate of customers, with the happy addition of Peiyan, whose nominator called him “our class’s unsung hero.”

As is now our wont, the first round of voting produced a 4-way tie, with only one vote separating the top four from the others.  This led to another run-off vote.

And in a first for Suncrest 6/7 MACC, we had a re-elected Mini-Brain!

Now, Kevin was a divisive figure during his first term, co-Brained with Meera.  Will he see his second term as a validation of his mandate, or will he shift to govern from the center, in the hope of winning over the disillusioned in his riding?  Time will tell; watch this space!

Unlike this week’s election in France, last week’s Mini-Brain election was a nail-biter. With an amended nomination process introduced by Meera and Kevin, nominators now – in addition to standing and giving explicit evidence of the nominees leadership qualities – needed to have someone else in class second their nomination.  This led to a roster of six candidates, made up of an interesting mix of previous nominees and tried and tried Mini-Brains of the past. 

Like a good tribal council in Survivor, the first round of voting was almost too close to call. One vote separated Shawn, Anika, and Daniel from the three-way tie for first place among Emilie, Shreyas, and Vlad.  Interestingly, one voter cast a blank ballot; if that person had actually voted, she or he could have put one of the candidates over the top or created a four-way tie for first place – a good reminder of the power of a single vote.  Bush vs. Gore, anyone? 

As it was, the three-way split led to a run-off vote. Candidates were given the opportunity to plead their cases – Emilie promised to listen to and take on all ideas and opinions, Shreyas channeled Jimmy Stewart in an everyman “I’m just one MACC student out of a class of 23 MACC students, any one of whom could be a good Mini-Brain,” and Vlad opted for silence, preferring to allow the vote to rest upon his actions rather than his words.

In the end, again only one vote separated the successful candidate(s) from the also-ran – we obviously have a very divided electorate, and also, perhaps, a lot of students who are displaying positive leadership skills – and Vlad and Shreyas became the third co-Brains in the 2016/2017 cycle.  Both Brains are very capable leaders, with very different leaderships styles.  How will they meld?  Will is be like chocolate and peanut butter or will it be like oil and water?  My instinct tells me probably the former, but time will tell.  In the meanwhile, does Vlad’s campaign poster suggest a certain delicious treat is in our future??