At 12:01 a.m. today, the fervent and pervasive campaigning season for the 2010 undergraduate student government elections officially began.
UCLA students can expect to find Bruin Walk and various other parts of the campus filled with Undergraduate Students Association Council candidates and slate supporters distributing leaflets, pins and other campaigning materials in hopes of gaining student votes.
Campaigning will continue until the end of voting on May 6. However, results will not be released until all campaigning materials have been taken down from campus, said Hector Lucero, Election Board chairman and second-year physiological science student.
Slates, groups of students who pool their resources and run on similar platforms, are mainly divided into Bruins United and Students First!. No matter how different each slate’s campaigning efforts may be, both expressed the need to increase voter turnout. Though last year’s 38.9 percent participation rate was the largest in the past 10 years, each slate stressed it was not enough.
Student involvement is necessary not only because a portion of student fees goes towards USAC, but also because of rising issues such as fee increases and budget cuts, said Jasmine Hill, Students First! USAC presidential candidate and third-year communications student.
“Students need to get involved to discuss who they feel is more confident in discussing these issues,” Hill said.
Although campaigning starts now, signboards may not be planted until Saturday night, an event that has been a tradition throughout USAC elections.
“Once the signboards come up, things really begin to happen,” Hill said.
Both slates plan to approach the campaigning process in mostly the same ways they have approached it in previous years. The two groups will engage in the traditional distribution of literature and paraphernalia, and will also provide updates on Facebook and Twitter.
The slates also expressed an interest in reaching out directly to students. Each one said they would be attending student group meetings in order to convey their vision and inquire about issues these groups would like to see addressed.
“We’re doing a more in-person, in-face campaign versus massive Facebook invites,” said Luz Maria Kumpel, Bruins United USAC presidential candidate and third-year psychobiology student. “We want to emphasize the importance of speaking to students and making them aware of the importance of participating in elections.”
Hill said she is excited about promoting diversity and uniting all students.
“We want to target groups that are traditional (Students First!) students and those who aren’t. It’s about bringing folks together and acknowledging we’re all different,” she said.
Both Bruins United and Students First! have plans to expand their traditional group of core supporters. For example, Students First! is excited to reach out to both Bruin Democrats and Bruin Republicans.
“Personally, what I’m all about is not about (Bruins United) versus (Students First!), but about what (Bruins United) stands for and why it’s best. Let’s all work together,” Kumpel said.
Kumpel said students can also expect “I am” statements as somewhat of a theme for the Bruins United campaign. Shirts and other materials will read “I am” and will be followed by a blank, which is left for each individual to fill.
“It allows students to take ownership of this campaign,” Kumpel said.
Students First! has campaign plans to focus largely on continuing the legacy of advocacy for real issues and dealing with real students, which includes bringing together a diverse student body, Hill said.
As for the newest slate, the Defend Affirmative Action Party, this year’s campaign will be geared more toward speaking to students about the slate’s cause and explaining why its position differs from that of other groups, said Nora Cisneros, DAAP general representative candidate and third-year psychology student.
DAAP will also distribute literature and other materials, which will focus on getting institutional aid passed at the UC Board of Regents meeting in July.
Fliering will be restricted to the hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. once the voting week begins.
Candidates and their slates are also prohibited from campaigning on residence hall floors, door-to-door, and in the dining facilities, according to the election code. These infractions are among the most common, and any failure to comply with the election code will result in a sanction by the Election Board. Consequences may range from a restriction on leafleting for half an hour, to candidate disqualification, Lucero said.
Lucero said the Election Board has already received several complaints concerning early campaigning and is currently looking into the situation.
All campaigning material must be approved by the Election Board prior to its distribution in order to receive the official stamp.
In addition, campaign material posted on Facebook or sent via e-mail must include a disclaimer.