In his own words, Carter Helschien ’18 is running for Yale College Council president, “all kidding aside.”

Helschien, who has spent the past two years with the YCC as a representative from Morse College and was a member of the Freshman Class Council, is running a campaign he hopes will engage more students with a student government that he said is out of touch with its constituents. Despite his unorthodox campaign slogans that claim he is “the only candidate running for Yale College Council president” and repeated promise to “make things less bad,” Helschien said he is completely serious about the issues facing students.

“The YCC only works well when you have the power of the students behind it,” he said. “[The YCC] is not working with student groups as well as it can be.”

Helschien said his humorous campaign promotions, which include a petition to expand Toad’s, a flip book with photos of Helschien paired with satirical quotations and a joking YouTube video, are tools to get more students engaged with the YCC process. Helschien said he thinks many students view the YCC as a slow-moving organization that is out of touch with many student groups.

“How can we mobilize these voters who typically don’t vote?” Helschien asked. “People have said to me ‘Carter, these are hilarious videos. These are fun campaign ideas.’ There’s been a failure of imagination on the YCC.”

His more serious platform contains a proposal to reform financial aid by eliminating the student income contribution, to expand undergraduate mental health resources and to boost funding for both STEM and the cultural centers.

In particular, Helschien said the YCC should be a better advocate for student groups like the Yale Climate and Energy Institute, which the University defunded this spring to the outrage of the students and faculty involved with the project. Helschien said as YCC president he would give more power to student groups while advocating on their behalf.

“I actually want to minimize the role that the YCC plays in advocacy work,” Helschien said. “Student groups are doing such great work — we should give them guidance.”

Helschien’s friends and coworkers described him as an excellent listener whose humor helps him engage with more students. Sarah DiMagno ’18, who serves as Helschien’s co-president on the Yale American Civil Liberties Union, said Helschien has an interest in law and social justice coupled with a good sense of humor.

Former chairman of the Yale Politic Jacek Oleszczuk ’17 said Helschien would make a “fun YCC president” who would also address the issues vital to students. After working with Helschien at the Politic, where Helschien served as treasurer, Oleszczuk described his colleague as diligent and someone who thinks outside the box.

Like Helschien, Oleszczuk stressed the importance of student groups in creating substantial change at Yale. The protests on campus last semester demonstrated that progress can be accomplished without the YCC, Oleszczuk said.

“I think he is a great counterpoint to the seriousness with which a lot of people conduct themselves at Yale,” DiMagno said. “His ideas and strategies are a pushback against Yalies taking themselves too seriously. He approaches situations with levity and with humor, which I think is a great trait.”