Students had their pick of Otter Pops, condoms and fortune
cookies Wednesday when candidates campaigning for the undergraduate
student government used creative tactics to promote their
campaigns.
Throughout campus, students in brightly colored shirts handed
out glossy fliers and used catchy props to attract attention and
encourage students to learn more about their ideas.
Campaigners for those running under the Students First! slate
wore red shirts and handed out condoms to spark students’
interest in the election, said Allende Palma/Saracho, presidential
candidate and current internal vice president.
The distribution of condoms was also used to promote safe sex
and allude to SF!’s goal of improving the lifestyle for
students on campus, Palma/Saracho said.
Other candidates targeted the college student’s desire for
free food by handing out Otter Pops and fortune cookies.
“It’s a creative way to get people’s
attention,” said independent presidential candidate Doug
Ludlow, referring to his idea to hand out fortune cookies.
Inside the fortune cookies, slips of paper foretold the future
of reduced student fees and advertised Ludlow’s Web site.
The goal of Ludlow’s campaign is to make students aware of
his candidacy and direct them to his Web site for more detailed
information, he said, adding that his fliers intentionally
contained little factual information on his ideas or
experience.
The Otter Pops that were handed out by the Equal Access
Coalition were also used to make students stop and pay attention to
the campaign, said Alex Gruenberg, candidate for financial supports
commissioner.
“It’s a hot day; we’re trying to get people to
come up and talk to us,” Gruenberg said.
SF! also hosted a dance show with performers dressed in the
slate’s colors. The performance was meant to get students
excited for the campaign and make them aware of SF!, said
Palma/Saracho.
Some candidates running on EAC tried to attract attention using
recent movie titles to advertise their campaigns.
Mona Hassani, a candidate for internal vice president,
distributed fliers with based on the advertisements for “Mona
Lisa Smile,” featuring her own face in place of Julia
Roberts’.
“I felt that students needed an association. … The
character represents something I stand for on council,”
Hassani said.
General representative Brian Neesby handed out fliers that
advertised for “Van Neesby” as a way to peek interest
in his campaign.
Using movie themes is a successful way to encourage students to
learn more about a candidate’s campaign, Neesby said, adding
that he had used the same tactic in the past for his campaign at El
Camino Community College.
But these flashy tactics are not the substance of
students’ campaigns; rather, they are a way to attract
students and get them to listen to each candidate’s ideas and
qualifications.
“The whole condom thing is a way to attract attention, but
that’s not really the bulk of our campaign,” said
Steven Le, a fourth-year mathematics student who helps campaign for
SF!
Candidates running under EAC also focused on informing students
of their platform rather than relying solely on noticeable campaign
supplies, said Josh Lawson, presidential candidate and USAC general
representative.
“We were able to talk to people, make sure that they care
about our campaign,” Lawson said.