The freshman class president runoff election concluded on Oct. 6, and freshman Leyton Jackson was declared the class of 2025’s president. 

“I decided to run because I always knew that I like to be a leader,” Jackson said. “I get frustrated when I’m not leading and the person who is leading isn’t doing a great job. I knew that I wanted to step up and lead our class because we need someone to really lead as we start our four years at Algonquin.”

As a new class president, Jackson hopes to make the class as inclusive as possible.

“I want to give us meetings for Steering [Committee] that really encompass everyone but are also very productive,” Jackson said. “I want to make sure that anti-discrimination here is done better than it has been so far. I’ve started and will continue to talk to [Principal Sean] Bevan about anti-discrimination.”

However, especially with a prolonged election process, there have been some challenges.

“I think the biggest challenge that I’ve encountered was some negativity,” Jackson said. “But most of that negativity was from people who were voting for my opponent. I can blow off the negativity, and my opponent ran a great campaign, so it’s understandable.”

Jackson used a variety of resources to campaign, including social media and handing out candy. After the initial election, a runoff election was required for two class president candidates.

“While it was all very interesting, it was all very long, because once the two of us were elected, we had to do a reelection,” Jackson said. “Halfway through, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, is this still going on?’ But it was good.”

Some of Jackson’s responsibilities as class president are running the freshman Steering Committee, attending student council meetings and working with the other elected officers. 

“I think that everyone who wants to should join Steering,” Jackson said. “I think that many of the students in the class of 2025 should be more open about changes that they want to see at Algonquin because those changes can’t happen until someone knows about it. I think that people just need to talk about their opinions.”