From the Court of Sciences to Powell Library, it is impossible to miss reminders of the ongoing undergraduate student government elections.
The three slates ““ Bruins United, Students First! and SERVE ““ have increased their campaign efforts to encourage students to vote before the end of the voting period tonight at 7 p.m.
Slates are groups of students who pool their resources and run under a common platform. With the help of their supporters, students have branched out across campus to increase student awareness of the elections and rally support for their particular slate.
The specifics of campaigning are governed by the Undergraduate Students Association Council Elections Board. These rules range from the hours that leafletting is allowed on campus to the placement of signs and the wooden sandwich boards commonly seen on Bruin Walk.
In terms of fliers, anything is acceptable as long as it includes the “E-board” logo somewhere on the sheet, said Mallory Wang, Elections Board chairwoman. She added that fliering is only allowed from Monday to Thursday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
There are no specifics on the campaign methods that candidates can use, which frees slates to utilize a variety of resources including e-mails, Facebook and signboards. Despite this freedom, the Elections Board does restrict the placement of sandwich boards. Wang said that these signs cannot be placed in Bruin Plaza, the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden or near Powell Library.
With these restrictions in mind, the slates have made an effort to show students the difference in their platforms.
SERVE has tried to accomplish this through grassroots campaigning, said Joanne Lin, SERVE candidate for Campus Events commissioner.
She added that this form of campaigning focuses more on reaching out to friends who might be apathetic toward the USAC elections and encouraging them to vote. Based on the recent formation of the coalition QUALIFIED, SERVE has joined forces with Students First! to reach a greater amount of students.
“We’re trying to push the message that we are the most qualified,” she said.
In contrast, Bruins United aims to reach greater numbers of students who may not know much about USAC.
“We’re staying positive and showing what we can offer students,” said Megan Ward, the external vice presidential candidate for Bruins United. “We want to draw people in and educate them on student government and also be conversational and friendly.”
Ward added that Bruins United has tried to reach out to student groups by attending meetings and speaking to group leaders.
From its “spirited slate headquarters” at the Bruin Bear, Bruins United utilizes upbeat music, bright blue shirts and occasional giveaways like fruit snacks to peak students’ interests in the election, Ward said. Through these ordinary campaign efforts, the slate hopes to show how it will address everyday student concerns.
“We try to cater our message to how USAC can work for individual students,” Ward said.
Similarly, Students First! has also utilized traditional approaches like fliering and word-of-mouth campaigning.
The slate took advantage of its candidates’ involvement in other student groups to increase support for its platforms, said Shahida Bawa, the Students First! candidate for internal vice president.
She added that this relates to her personally. Through her involvement in a community service organization, she said she was able to reach out to the 24 community service groups that are represented by the program.
“These groups are aware of the elections because they know of me,” Bawa said.
At its headquarters across from Kerckhoff Hall, Students First! has also tried to create a positive and inviting atmosphere through loud music and the distribution of free food items like ramen, Bawa said.
These slates’ efforts will continue until tonight at 7, at which time voting will close.