About 40 students signed up to run for the Student Confederation class and school council at last week's Board of Election information session, leading up to the SC nominating convention on Feb. 13, Board of Elections Chair Hye-Jin Lee said Monday night.
"We may not have enough candidates to fill spots," said Lee, mentioning that there may be one or two extra information sessions this week for students who were not at the one last week.
The sessions detailed the rules for campaigning, from budgets to the number of signatures needed on petitions to areas where chalking campaign material is prohibited. Lee warned candidates to stick to the guidelines, reminding them that candidates are "ultimately responsible for anything with [their] name on it."
Lee said she "will call [candidates] up at any time of day" for committing a violation.
Campaigning will begin as soon as the nominating convention lets out. No campaign materials, including stickers or buttons, are allowed inside Mary Gradon Center at any point during the race. Voting will take place on computers in MGC 120 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 28 to 29.
Students running for class and school council positions may spend $50 on their campaigns, and students running for executive positions may spend $250. All expenses must be noted on a financial disclosure form, due at the close of polls at 5 p.m. Feb. 29.
The session also introduced candidates to nakedvoting.com, a Web site specially created for the SC election. The Web site was designed to offer objective candidate information to students and help combat low voter turnout. Last spring, 1,261 students voted in the general election, and 911 students voted in the runoff election for SC president, The Eagle previously reported.
After the meeting, SC president Polson Kanneth wished all candidates good luck, advising them to "have fun" with the campaigns.
"You have to be excited about it ... and make sure you connect to people," Kanneth said.
Stressing the amount of commitment that goes into running for office, he also said candidates should make sure they are in good health and "have a good team of people behind [them]."
But Kanneth warned candidates against making impossible promises to win votes.
"In the end, you're going to have to answer to the student body ... and they can tell a phony when they see one," he said.
Under Kanneth's leadership, the SC clarified the parking policy, created a Public Safety advisory board and had the library stay open 24 hours during finals. This semester, the organization plans to focus on tuition - a "major goal" for the SC, Kanneth says.
"People need to know what's going on; 81 percent of [AU's] operating budget comes from the students," he said. "We have a right to ask questions and make [the administration] as transparent as possible"
