A little before midnight, the peace and quiet of Saturday night was shattered by the distinct rallying cries of Bruins United, Students First! and SERVE supporters along Bruin Walk.
Members and supporters of Bruins United and the coalition QUALIFIED, which is composed of Students First! and SERVE, erected their candidates’ signboards in the grass near Powell Library in preparation for Undergraduate Students Association Council voting, which begins today at 7 p.m. via the MyUCLA Web site.
The three slates are groups of students who pool their resources and run under similar platforms.
In accordance with the USAC election policies, candidates are assigned a place on the grass for their signboard through a random process of selection, said Mallory Wang, elections board chairwoman. While most of these signs are located on the walkway between Powell Library and Bruin Walk, some signs are posted on the lawn near the Student Activities Center, Wang said.
These signs will be in place until the end of the USAC elections on Thursday at 7 p.m.
“They’re important because they allow students to see that it’s election season,” Wang said. “It gets them in the mood and reminds them to vote.”
She added that due to the size of the campus, it is sometimes difficult to be aware of the various candidates. Thus, signboards offer an easy way for contenders to advertise their campaigns and platforms.
“Bruin Walk is the road that everyone goes down,” Wang said. “It’s the most visible place for students.”
With a high amount of energy and enthusiasm, the slates turned the process of posting signboards into a rallying event.
Late-night visitors were greeted by the chants and cheers of Bruins United supporters, who congregated near the Bruin Bear in bright blue shirts and danced to the continuous beat of a drum. While students held shovels, candidates rallied their followers with exciting and upbeat speeches.
Farther up the road, a large group of dark blue-clad Students First! and SERVE supporters formed a circle in Meyerhoff Park, near Kerckhoff Hall, and performed 8-claps, while organizers bellowed both Students First! and SERVE candidates’ names to a crowd cheering in response.
In time, small groups of students began to gather near their candidates’ signboard locations, while helping to break the ground with shovels and pickaxes. Soon afterward, the sound of hammering resounded throughout the area, as supporters nailed wooden signboards to their stakes. Cheers occasionally erupted when signboards neared completion and several students danced energetically to the continuous beating of the Bruins United drum.
Much like the difference in T-shirt colors, the signboards of Bruins United and Students First! are also distinct.
Bruins United signboards are bright blue and feature a large photo of each candidate, along with a quote about their platforms. The signboards are made of canvas and are held up by wooden stakes.
“There’s only so much you can do with fliers,” said Andrew Kreitz, the Bruins United candidate for academic affairs commissioner. “It’s about presence, and (signboards) remind people of the presence of USAC and spread the message of what Bruins United and USAC are all about.”
In contrast, the Students First! signboards are wooden and feature photos of the candidates on mock album covers, along with descriptions of their campaign promises and past accomplishments.
“These signboards show that we care,” said Suza Khy, a third-year environmental science student and one of the campaign managers for Layhannara Tep, the Students First! candidate for the Academic Affairs Commission. “They’re handmade … and they show that we consider the costs that go into campaigning.”
Despite the rumored apathy that some students have toward the USAC elections, Wang emphasized the relevance of the election results to the daily lives of students.
“USAC is important because they hold a lot of power over appointments, allotments of money, and programs for students,” she said. “Students should hold (the elected officers) accountable.”