Candidates for student body president took to the sidewalks of the UNC campus last week to collect the 800 signatures necessary to place their names on the Feb. 11 ballot.
They also have used friends, the Internet and word-of-mouth to reach out to students during the first part of the campaign, which lasts until Jan. 28. During this phase, candidates are not allowed to use campaign materials.
The Larson-Daum Campaign Reform Act of 2002, which Student Congress passed Nov 12, restricts candidates to funds provided to them by Student Congress, requires presidential candidates to collect 800 signatures and reduces the duration of the campaigns to two weeks.
The four candidates for student body president -- Nathan Cherry, Ben Pickett, Matt Tepper and Sang Shin -- have been spreading their campaign staffers across campus to get out their messages verbally.
All candidates said they have received at least 800 signatures, some of them receiving as many as 1,200.
Candidates are nonchalant about the possible effects of the act and said they don't think students will be put off by the lack of visual aids around campus.
"I don't think it is going to affect the campaign at all," Cherry said.
But Tepper said he sees the possible limitations of not using ordinary campaign materials as well. "It makes it a lot harder for the candidates to get the message out," he said.
Shin said the race is more fair as a result of the changes.
