The campaign season officially hit full stride at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday when candidates were allowed to begin plastering posters on the sides of campus buildings. This year’s elections offer the promise of a shorter, less annoying experience for campaign-weary students due to wise rule changes by the Joint Elections Commission and Student Association Senate. Candidates, their supporters and others involved in the process should follow the example set by those regulating the election and act responsibly during the campaign.
New rules changed the starting time for postering to keep candidates and throngs of their supporters from staying up all night camped out at prime postering locations. This change will hopefully remind everyone involved that they are students first and candidates and political operatives second. Restrictions on palmcarding will allow students to reach voting stations without passing through a frenzy of solicitations.
Also, the shorter campaign season – one week less than previous years – forces candidates to focus their message and spares students prolonged exposure to the typical inconveniences of palmcarders and other headaches. But the limited time allotted for reaching the electorate could hurt candidates not making a targeted and precise effort to communicate with voters. In the past, those seeking office had plenty of time to wander residence halls or mingle in J Street. Under the new regulations, different approaches to campus politics may be necessary.
Candidates should work to ensure that those politics do not turn ugly. Mud slinging, defacing campaign materials or committing election violations only diminishes the ability for whoever comes out on top to represent the concerns of all students.
Although students may feel inundated by palm cards and unsightly campaign posters, they are a form of political expression and should be allowed to hang and be distributed as widely as possible without unduly burdening students. Regulations restricting postering at the Mount Vernon campus must be relaxed to allow candidates to express their positions to MVC voters.
The campaign season, replete with inconveniences and the potential for lapses in candidates’ ethics, is perhaps the single most memorable recurring event at a University with no football team or longstanding tradition. With that in mind, everyone involved in this year’s election festivities should seize the opportunity to make this campaign the best one yet.
