The posters have popped up across campus, the Web pages are running, and the student election season has officially begun, with about the same number of candidates as last year.
But Matt Swanson, office manager for the ASUO Elections Board, said there are fewer people running uncontested for Student Senate and committee positions this year, which will mean more campaigns. The filing deadline was 5 p.m. Friday.
Swanson said he hopes the increased number of campaigns will help students become more aware of what student government does.
“The turnout is good. There are a few open seats, but so many people filing will make for an intense elections season,” Swanson said.
But the closest-watched campaign is always the one for president and vice president: the ASUO Executive. This year, six very diverse tickets will compete during the two weeks leading up to the Feb. 26 primary election. The top two tickets will advance to the general election, beginning March 5.
The candidates have said that so far, they are in the early planning stages, getting their word out with fliers and posters and lobbying student groups for votes.
Two of the tickets are filled by current members of student government.
Nilda Brooklyn, ASUO multicultural advocate, and her running mate, Joy Nair, ASUO recruitment and retention director, are both sophomores. Brooklyn said some of her friends suggested last year that she run, but she only decided to run about three weeks ago, when Nair agreed to join her ticket.
Brooklyn said she and Nair have been talking to people who work with the ASUO, finding out what they like and the changes they want to see in the Executive office.
Presidential candidate Eric Bailey, the current vice president of the Student Senate, has also been considering the race for a long time. Bailey said he spoke with fellow senators during winter break, including Sen. C.J. Gabbe, who ran for Executive last year, and decided to run shortly before winter term began.
“But I first had to decide what my platform would be,” he said.
Bailey, a sophomore, has enlisted the help of junior Jeff Oliver, ASUO housing advocate, as his running mate. They are both in the early stages of their campaign, planning events and talking to student groups.
As usual, a number of candidates from outside student politics have thrown in their hats. Bret Jacobson, a former Oregon Daily Emerald columnist, said he spent the past months learning more about how student government works and gradually decided to run.
“I found I had the desire and the drive to try to make a positive difference,” Jacobson said.
Jacobson, and his running mate, Matt Cook, are both juniors.
There will also be a handful of candidates running for the office on humorous platforms, and, as in previous years, some are staff members at the Oregon Commentator.
Eric Qualheim will run with Brian Boone, a staff writer for the Commentator. Qualheim said they decided to run after watching last year’s contest.
“We couldn’t possibly do worse than the people last year, so we decided to try this year,” he said.
Qualheim jokingly wrote in his candidate statement that he ran for third grade president on a platform of abolitionism and that Boone was raised by pirates off the coast of Ireland.
But as the pair prepare to bombard the campus with publicity about who they are and what they would do if elected, Qualheim said he and Boone aren’t sure how serious their campaign will become.
“One thing we’re sure of is that we would do a good job,” Qualheim said.
Commentator photographer Sho Ikeda will also run, but without a vice presidential candidate. He could not be reached for comment before press time.
Junior Brad Schatzel, who filed only minutes before the election deadline on Friday, also could not be reached for comment before press time.