With more than 80 students
running for positions on ASI for the 2012-13 school year, a variety of campaigns are vying to win students’ votes when election day comes on April 25.
However, some tactics are common among many of the candidates, including reaching out to students and making their names known.
For ASI presidential-hopeful Katie Morrow, the campaign process began before this week. Morrow, said she’s been meeting with campus groups for approximately a month and “the absolute No. 1 thing” is talking with as many people as she can, so she can hear their concerns.
“At the end of the day, I don’t think you elect an ASI president because of one or two things they say they’re going to do,” Morrow said. “I think you want to elect someone who you believe in as a leader, and I don’t think that you can get that perspective until you meet them.”
Morrow’s campaign includes a
website, Facebook and Twitter, handing out T-shirts, putting up posters and a booth on campus. Morrow said she tries to be on campus from 6:45 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day so she can meet people. She also plans to start speaking to classes later this week, she said.
Physics junior Eddie Taylor is also reaching out to students in his campaign for the College of Science and Mathematics (COSAM) Board of Directors. Taylor said he’s been going into science classes and clubs encouraging people to vote. He plans to put up fliers and is using Facebook as a campaign tool, as well. The basic idea is getting his name out there and having people see his face and hear him talk, he said.
“This isn’t a campaign for president of the United States,” Taylor said. “They just need to hear your name and see if you’re a good person.”
Getting his name out there is also important to civil engineering freshman Matthew Sanders, who is running for ASI Board of Directors for the College of Engineering. He said he’s working on a flyer for his campaign, which he wants to be “professional and fun.”
“You definitely can’t get to everybody, so what you try to do is get to the most people as possible by pretty much just having your name out there and having people see it,” Sanders said. “I don’t think there’s debates for Board of Directors, so really all it is just representation of yourself.”
Social media is an important campaign strategy for College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES) Board of Directors candidate and fruit science junior Rosebud Brumley — she said it’s “the best way to go about things” in campaigning for ASI because Cal Poly is “so big.”
And having personal contact with potential voters is a large part of her campaign, Brumley said — such as reaching out to greek life, clubs and organizations.
“Even though you could be talking to more than just the College of Agriculture, be representing yourself in front of everybody, not just your college,” Brumley said.
For some ASI candidates, this isn’t their first election.
ASI Board of Directors vice chair and agricultural sciences senior Kaitlin Harr is running for re-election to the CAFES Board of Directors, and said there’s more pressure this year because she knows what the experience is like and “can’t imagine” not being part of the Board of Directors next year. She said she is stepping things up with her campaign this year.
Harr is trying to get her name out there and has emailed as many clubs in the college as she can and is trying to interact with as many students as possible. Using Facebook groups and putting up fliers and posters help people recognize your name, she said. And following up with people to get them to vote is also one of Harr’s campaign strategies.
“If they know a person … and they’ve seen the person make the effort, I think that goes a long way,” Harr said.
For child development junior Olivia Giorgi having a “cool poster design” and a “catchy slogan” is the best way to campaign for ASI.
“There’s a lot of people here at school, and if they don’t necessarily know the person, I think a good poster helps — it helps spread awareness,” Giorgi said.
