(The following are the candidate statements for the Class of 1998 officers. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes will be president, the other will be vice president. The officers are responsible for class events during the academic year and Commencement week as well as participating on the Senior gift committee. The officers also vote on the Honorary Degrees Committee and traditionally are part of the Commencement ceremony. Members of the class of 1998 may vote, and ballots are due in the Alumni Office by March 7. Results of the election will be released March 12.)

Once there was a boy who got lost in the forest. The trees in this forest were tall, their branches so thick with leaves that they blocked the sun.

The boy was afraid, for it was dark and cold and the animals of the forest made unfamiliar noises. But the boy kept walking-he walked all night, and as the morning sun began to rise he reached the edge of the forest. As he passed the last of the tall trees, he saw that the forest gave way to a grassy field. He smiled and ran into the sun-he was lost but at least he was warm.

The boy stopped and looked all around him. On the horizon, toward the rising sun, he thought he saw something like a castle. It was far, far away, but the boy was very lonely, so he decided he would try to make it to the castle.

He ran and ran, all day his tiny legs moving as fast as they could. Then, just as the sun began to set behind him, he reached the building. It was a castle, tall and proud like the trees of the forest-and its door was open!

The boy walked through the doorway and looked all around. Like the forest, the castle was dark and cold. The boy called out; there was no one there. But against the far wall there was a great chest, and the boy walked to it and tried to open the chest.

He was not strong enough. He tried again-and this time it flew open! Inside was a gold of the most brilliant color, and it shone and glimmered in the boy's hands.

I am an African-American female studio art major with an environmental studies minor. My Oberlin activities include singing in two a cappella groups, Nothing But Treble (all female), and the Dynamics (co-ed).

I am also involved in creating a Women's Resource Center, as well as the new Environmental Studies Center. I have been committed to the building of the E.S.C. for the past three years.

In terms of my qualifications for the position of class officer, I feel that I have been in many leadership roles ranging from being a camp counselor at Oberlin Earth Camp, to organizing actions in response to the hate crimes directed toward Baldwin women last year, to standing by my beliefs in Third World Co-op.

These along with other experiences have taught me that to be an effective leader, cooperation, communication with everyone, understanding, flexibility, integrity, and commitment are needed. Thank you.