Updated: Feb. 25, 2020 at 7:54 p.m.

Candidates for the Student Association’s top posts and senate seats dashed out of Kogan Plaza Monday to tack campaign posters around campus.

The annual event kicks off the campaigning period for SA elections, which is slated for March 25 and 26. Almost every candidate for SA president and executive vice president arrived in Kogan Plaza with posters in hand. SA Sen. Brandon Hill, CCAS-U, started postering on the Mount Vernon Campus but sent three of his campaign members to hang signs in Foggy Bottom.

“It’s basically the first opportunity candidates have to reach out to the student body and say, ‘Hey, over the next month I’m going to be running for an elected position here on campus, this is what I’m about – this is the impact and the changes I want to have,'” Kyle Piekarski, the Joint Elections Commission chairman, said.

Here’s a recap of the morning’s events:

7:30 a.m.
Candidates huddled under an awning in Kogan Plaza to avoid the light rain early Monday morning.

Former senate secretary Bishop Walton, one of six candidates vying for president, was one of the first to arrive along with his 10-person campus team. Walton said his team’s “plan of attack” was to poster at the Marvin Center entrance and reconvene at about 10 a.m., when the rain was expected to cease, to put up more signs.

“Postering day is essential to our campaign to get my face out there and provide exposure to different communities,” Walton said. “Postering day also brought our team closer together and helped develop a deeper camaraderie that conveyed trust and loyalty for the GW community and this campaign.”

SA Sen. Howard Brookins, U-at-Large and a presidential candidate, said the event is “exciting” because the student body wakes up to a “litany” of posters in areas around Rome and Phillips halls, the Marvin Center and the Vern.

“It’s really just an exciting experience as this is a very politically active campus,” he said. “And although we may not be as strong in school spirit for basketball, we love politics and this is kind of our Super Bowl.”

[gwh_image id=”1112491″ credit=”Grace Hromin | Staff Photographer” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”]Brookins tapes up a campaign poster. He is one of six candidates vying for SA president.[/gwh_image]

8:00 a.m.
Several candidates and campaign members dashed to the H Street entrance of the Marvin Center with posters and tape in hand.

SA Sen. George Glass, U-at-Large and presidential candidate, said he planned to focus on one wall outside the Marvin Center and surrounded his posters with bright duck tape. Glass added that he wanted to “make a mockery” of the event, saying he does not think the event helps candidates win.

“I think postering day and postering is the stupidest part of the election because I feel like there are so many posters here that nobody pays attention to.”

SA Vice President for Public Affairs Drew Amstutz, who is running for president, said he placed multiple posters on a wall at the nearest entrance to Panera Bread to draw attention to students walking through the area. He said he chose to poster at the entrance because Marvin is a “hub for all things student life.”

“Naturally, I want to make sure that my posters are front and center so when all students begin their day, they can be reminded of all the work that I am trying to do for them,” Amstutz said.

[gwh_image id=”1112488″ credit=”Arielle Bader | Senior Photo Editor ” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”]Sophomore Martin Haggray tapes down a poster for Walton’s campaign. [/gwh_image]

SA Senior Policy Adviser and presidential candidate Georgie Britcher said she brought five people to help her put up posters on the Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon campuses. She said the team brought paper towels to wipe down rainwater on the walls before taping up signs.

“I think it is a good way for people to get to know the SA candidates in their daily walks of life around the school,” Britcher said.

8:30 a.m.
The morning came to a close about a half hour after it began, leaving posters at spots like Bell and Lisner halls. Candidates said they would return to campus later in the day with more posters when the rain stops.

SA Sen. Kate Carpenter, U-at-Large, who is running for re-election, said she assembled a team of first-year students from different schools to help her during the event. She said the event helps create a sense of community among candidates and their teams who can bond over postering strategies and jumpstart their campaign together.

“This morning, it kind of built a sense of camaraderie because I saw people doing this method of hanging up posters and I was like ‘Oh that’s so smart,’ and people were like ‘Yeah you should do this too,’” she said.

Sophomore Chase Johnson – who was postering for Walton – finished the morning at the Marvin Center, leaving several signs on the building’s wall.

“Everyone was listening to each other and providing input,” he said. “I think it was a collaborative team effort and I am really excited to see where this goes.”

This post was updated to correct the following:
A previous version of this story included the wrong election date. It is now corrected.