By Taimi Arvidson

Amidst the excitement of free pizza and a live band, senior Heidi Buchanan took the stage and said the words that would make her the 2005 “Mayor of Huntington Avenue.”

“We’re going to beat William ‘ Mary,” was all it took to rally the small crowd gathered in the Curry Student Center last Wednesday.

Buchanan was elected the new mayor after students logged onto their myNEU student portals to vote for the winner as a part of last week’s Homecoming festivities.

As an event organized by the Student Ambassadors, six students gave speeches in order to gain the title. Before he or she was considered for the contest, each applicant had to write a 100-word essay answering why they were the most spirited and best candidate for mayor, said Jen Dowd, secretary of the Student Ambassadors of the Alumni Association.

The six contestants were freshman mechanical engineering major Brandon Holley, freshman political science major Zac Saboliauskas, sophomore psychology major Paul Tyman, freshman pharmacy major Matt Borden, freshman pharmacy major Jason Pino, and the winner, senior political science major Heidi Buchanan.

“We aimed to have freshmen or lower classmen running so that the student would be here next year to pass the tradition on and help promote the event next year,” Dowd said.

However, she promised that Buchanan would be around to pass on the title next year.

“I made sure to tell everyone I knew to vote [and] I think I displayed a lot of spirit in my speech, which I don’t think the other candidates did as well,” said Buchanan. “I’m sure they were all qualified but if you’re going to be the symbol of spirit you’ve got to show some spirit when you’re up there giving your speech.”

The six contestants gave short speeches to a small crowd. The event was scheduled to take place in the Krentzman Quad, but poor weather forced them set up the stage and speakers inside the Curry Student Center.

Students rushed to get the free cheese pizza offered alongside the free Homecoming t-shirts and candy. After the giveaways and live music, the six finalists took the stage to give a short statement about why they should have the title.

“We should have a lot of pride in our school and a lot of pride in Boston. So everybody should get out there and vote and take part in all the Homecoming activities,” Borden said.

Other speeches were more humorous.

“I love you all very much and would love you all even more … if you would give a vote to the Zacster,” Saboliauskas said.

After the speeches, the Student Ambassadors conducted a raffle, including gift certificates to restaurants like the Cheesecake Factory, a digital camera and an iPod shuffle.

“I think the event was successful,” Dowd said. “For a while, people were curious what the whole ‘Mayor of Huntington’ was all about. I hope after this year people have a better understanding of the event and next year it can grow to be bigger and better.”