Roughly a dozen students running in the upcoming Student Government Association elections attended the annual postering day Monday morning, marking the beginning of the two-weekslong campaign period.
Five of the six candidates running for SGA president and vice president gathered in Kogan Plaza at 9 a.m. to distribute posters around campus that encourage students to vote for them in the April 11 and 12 elections. Presidential, vice presidential and senate candidates said they were prioritizing postering on both the Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon campuses to increase the election’s visibility and encourage Vern students to vote because they are typically underrepresented on campus.
Candidates bolted to the University Student Center to plaster their posters outside the H Street entrance and on academic buildings like Smith and Phillips halls.
SGA Sen. Dan Saleem (CCAS-U), a presidential contender, said he began campaigning exactly at 9 a.m. to ensure he was able to snatch up “prime real estate” on available buildings to paste his posters. He said he had three members of his campaign team postering the open Foggy Bottom buildings and two members on the Vern to ensure his campaign was spread equally between the two campuses.
“Vern students matter just as much as Foggy Bottom students do and Ashburn do, so I think at the end of the day, whenever there’s a student on campus that’s wondering where the best postering location is, it’s going to be everywhere,” Saleem said. “It’s going to be absolutely everywhere a student can see things.”
Saleem did not send anyone to poster on the Virginia Science and Technology Campus.
First-year Liz Stoddard, who is running for an undergraduate seat in the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, said she started campaigning at 9 a.m. to get her name out because she is one of the three women running for a CCAS-U senate seat and feels women can be “drowned out” by their male counterparts, especially when their male counterparts outnumber them in a race like CCAS-U.
She said she had six friends helping her campaign on Foggy Bottom while one of her friends postered on the Vern to ensure both campuses are equally represented.
“The Vern community is essentially untouched by both administration and candidates,” Stoddard said. “I mean, how many times have Vernies complained that they’re not getting the same access to University services as main campus folks?”
Jacob Wilner, a CCAS-U senate hopeful, said he started postering at 9 a.m. to maximize his exposure and allow as many students as possible to see his posters. He said since the CCAS-U seat is extremely competitive this year, with 13 students running for eight seats, he is hoping to campaign as much as possible to show students he is willing to “put in the hours.”
“It is really important to show commitment and show that you care and are there and willing to put in the hours because it’s a big position,” Wilner said. “If you’re willing to put in all those hours now, people will know that you’ll do it the entire time.”
