Students running in next week’s Student Government Association election raced to pin up posters across campus on Monday morning, marking the start of the campaign period.
About a dozen students campaigning for SGA president, vice president and senate seats gathered in Kogan Plaza at 9 a.m. before dashing to high-traffic student pedestrian spots like the University Student Center and Rome Hall to tape their posters on the buildings’ exteriors. All presidential candidates and vice presidential candidates came to hang their candidacy flyers across campus ahead of the April 10 and 11 SGA election.
Cheydon Naleimaile-Evangelista, a first-year running for a SGA undergraduate senate seat to represent the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, said he started hanging posters at 9 a.m. because he knew the space outside of buildings would fill up quickly. He said throughout the tw0-week campaign period he wants to speak directly with voters to help diminish the “barrier” that exists between the SGA and student body.
“Just reaching out to voters and talking to them, I think showing that hospitality is definitely something that a lot of people or modern-day campaigns might lack,” Naleimaile-Evangelista said.
SGA presidential contender Dan Saleem walked down H Street with a Swiffer Sweeper mop and a stack of posters looking for the best spots to hang his candidacy flyers. He said he started early in the morning because of the limited location options to post election advertisements.
The Joint Elections Commission rules outline postering regulations, which include a required size of no larger than 18-by-12 inches and restricted zones like windows, doors or any University residence hall. The JEC only allows candidates to hang posters on the exterior of the USC on the H Street side, the exterior of any building facing University Yard and the exterior of Ames Hall on the Mount Vernon campus.
Any candidate who violates any rule will receive two penalty points, the JEC asserts. If a candidate accumulates six or more penalty points at any point during the campaign period they will be disqualified from the race.
Saleem said it is crucial that he be “on the ground” throughout his campaign to ensure students know who he is and feel comfortable talking with him about his platform.
“I feel like a lot of politicians, or students, they can be up in their offices, they could be up on social media platforms, but really meeting with people face to face is what’s going to actually let students know that we’re there,” Saleem said.
First-year Chloe Schafer hung up posters for SGA presidential contender Emily-Anne Santiago in the pathway connecting Rome and Phillips halls, citing the location as “prime real estate” because students will see them on their way to classes. Schafer said she wanted to help Santiago with her campaign however she could because she believes Santiago is in the election for the “right reasons.”
“She doesn’t need this, and she’s still putting this out, doing this just because she wants to make this a better place,” Schafer said. “She says she wants to leave GW better than when she found it.”
