It’s 9:45 Saturday morning. Clayton McDonald is running out of the Union with strips of tape covering his body. Nicole Nguyen is guarding her spot by an OSH window. Cameron Beech is making sure all of his campaign workers are ready to make the big move. Joe Coccimiglio has his cell phone glued to his ear, commanding his troops.
By about 10:05 a.m., almost all the anticipation is over, and the walls and windowpanes of most major U buildings are left covered in a sea of yellow, green, red and orange campaign posters.
Last Saturday was Posting Day, which marks the official beginning of active campaigning for the Associated Students of the University of Utah elections, and candidates were able to put up their campaign posters at exactly 10 a.m.
Before the countdown, candidates and campaign workers lined the edges of hallways with already-taped posters ready to be put up at the appropriate time.
Posters for each party numbered in the hundreds. According to Redbook, the student constitution, each party can have a maximum of eight posters for each ASUU Senate and ASUU General Assembly member, totaling 67 candidates. The candidates for senior class president can display 40 posters each.
The maximum number of presidential and vice-presidential candidate posters is not specified, but there cannot be more than 15 of these posters in each building.
The largest number of posters was hung in OSH because of the wide variety of classes taught in that building. The Social and Behavioral Science Building — home to classes for the largest college on campus — followed close behind.
Elections Registrar Lorraine Evans completed audits of each building to make sure rules had not been broken. Candidates have until 5 p.m. today to fix problems or else a grievance will be filed against them.
“It was really telltale of how organized people are and how good at solving problems,” Evans said. “It was an interesting first test of leadership.”
Today marks the beginning of Dialogue Week, which will last until Friday. Candidates can now talk to students and hand out fliers. Online campaigning and campaign Web sites can be used now, as well. Booths cannot be put up until March 5.
“On Monday, we’ll have our posters up and have lots of fliers with great promotions on them,” said More 4 U vice-presidential candidate Craig Hammond. “We’re going to try to talk to as many people as we can.”
Tyler CobbAfter hanging a set of posters for the Activate Party in OSH on Saturday morning, humanities Assembly candidate Megan Bitner plans other locations to hang posters.
Tyler CobbNicole Nguyen, senior class president candidate for the FUSE Party, helps her fellow party members hang posters for Posting Day on Saturday morning in OSH.