With the start of University-wide elections just around the corner, some students have spent the past few months working on various campaigns, either for themselves or their friends.
During the week of Feb. 22 to 28, students from all University schools except the Batten and Education Schools will elect representatives to the University Judiciary Committee and Honor Committee, as well as the representatives and executive board members of Student Council and class councils. By the first week of March, all University students will have had the opportunity to select their next batch of leaders.
To win these crucial student votes, each candidate is taking his own unique path to advertise to the student body.
For example, second-year College student Natalia Mercado - who is vying for the Third-Year Council vice presidency - has used Facebook along with flyering and canvassing to reach out to voters. She also has emphasized the need to cater to every individual student, pursuing this goal by visiting many of those students.
"We went around the dorms handing out free hot chocolate," Mercado said. "We thought with the cold weather, the hot chocolate would be a good idea. We went door-to-door, really finding out what students wanted. It was a more personal, outside-of-the-box canvassing."
Second-Year Council President Dan Morrison, who hopes to win the position of Student Council president, has tried to think outside the box to advertise himself, as well. He has not only become known for his humorous YouTube videos - during which he breaks through a fake wall while wearing a suit and tie - but also for his longer, more serious videos about student issues and his specific plans to revamp Student Council.
Through his videos, Morrison said he hopes to reach out to students through a medium that allows greater creativity.
"YouTube videos are a way to really combine style with substance; it's different from adding to the 'white noise' of campaigning," he said.
One of Morrison's opponents has focused on a different use of the Internet. Colin Hood, Council's current vice president of organizations, was one of the few candidates to launch a Web site that details his goals, platforms and policies. A page titled "Under the Hood," for instance, details his past accomplishments, while the home page features testimonials from Hood's acquaintances and colleagues and another page outlines his plan to reform Council. Hood also seeks to distinguish himself by reaching out to graduate and professional students at the University, using mass e-mails. Nevertheless, Hood said this outreach has been the most difficult part of his campaign.\nThe University Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, has given each of its candidates the opportunity to create a one-minute video, which they can use as they see fit.\nFor second-year College student Halley Epstein, this video was a chance for her to talk about her experiences and ways that she qualifies for her position, she said. But she preferred to elaborate on her campaign through the questionnaire section on her "Meet the Candidate" page on the Committee Web site, where she detailed her policies and platform.
"Since most people will not sit through entire videos, I wanted to get my point across: name, experience and that I'm ready to serve the student body," Epstein said.\nThough Epstein found this Web page useful, some students running for positions that elect multiple candidates have found that planning for campaigns has been a little less clear-cut.
"The [Student Council College representative] election only has about 10 students running for eight positions, so making a Web page would have been a little unnecessary," said first-year College student Marco Segura, one of the candidates for the positions.
Segura has found face-to-face interactions, not Web sites, to be the most effective campaign strategy. As a result, he has gathered a group of friends to go from dormitory to dormitory in a grassroots campaign.
It may not be the same as "face-to-face" interactions, but Facebook is also a place where students are able to meet the candidates and learn about their policies, using methods as diverse as joining groups, responding to ads or viewing live-stream messages and forums. Second-year College student Erik Rison - who is running to represent the College in the Committee - is one of many candidates who created a Facebook group, which he sees as an efficient way to reach as many people as possible.\n"I know not everyone has Facebook, but most certainly a good deal of college students do," he said. "Facebook is really efficient because ... all the information is in one spot. Students can get into contact with questions, and it's a good forum."
Mercado also emphasized the importance of this social networking Web site.
"There's that saying, 'It isn't official until it's on Facebook,'" she said.
Whether it is face-to-face or online, this pursuit of personal interactions has appealed to several candidates because it enables students to see the people for whom they would vote - and may in fact make the candidates seem more approachable.
"Students see your character and personality, and you also get feedback from them on what they would like to see," Epstein said. In addition, personal campaigning allows candidates to recognize their voters and may be more appreciated than the "white noise" that campaigns usually produce, she said. In general, she said, it is important to reach out to the great number of communities that make up the University.
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