Candidates prep for election

The starting gun will sound Thursday night for candidates running in the 2005 campus elections when their first formal meeting with the Board of Elections adjourns.

During the meeting, board members will clarify election codes to ensure that recent changes to the Student Code are clearly understood and followed.

These changes include the addition of a mandatory campaign briefing that candidates must have with board members each week and new dorm-storming policies.

After Thursday’s meeting, candidates will begin petitioning for signatures.

Those running for student body president must obtain 800 signatures. Hopefuls for senior class officers and Residence Hall Association president need 350. Residence area governor candidates must garner 50 signatures, and those vying for Student Congress must get 20.

This year, campaign workers who wish to solicit signatures door to door in residence halls must register with the residence community’s front desk and wear name tags to identify themselves and their campaign.

Dorm-storming will be permitted from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday during the campaign season.

Board members suggest that students who do not want solicitations should post a temporary notice on their door. Campaign workers still will be able to post their Web site address and information on residents’ doors.

Gathering the many signatures could be difficult, but student body president candidate Seth Dearmin remains confident.

“The only strategy (we have) is to be out on campus, in the Pit, getting the word out and being positive and being fun,” he said.

Thursday stands as the official start of the elections, but potential candidates have been steadfast in their preparation.

“It’s been really busy. I’ve been seeing four to five people every day since November 2,” said student body president hopeful Tom Jensen.

Jensen has gathered a team of more than 100 volunteers who will dorm-storm every night in hopes of obtaining enough signatures to enter the race.

Leigha Blackwell, also vying for the title of student body president, began developing her platform in late September. “We took a student survey on our own initiative to find out what students were concerned about,” she said.

Blackwell said she hopes Thursday’s meeting will be instrumental in avoiding problems similar to those that surfaced during last year’s student body president race.

“(We hope) the meeting will clarify the new revisions regarding election laws to make sure we’re all on the same page,” Blackwell said.

But Jamie Polen, vice chairman of the BOE, said that in order to ensure a clean and successful election, board members need to focus on “solving problems before they occur.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.