Campaigning during this Student Government election season involved a blend of traditional approaches and new campaign tactics.
The newly formed Student Alliance party has implemented several new campaign strategies.
Ben Cavataro, the Student Alliance party candidate for Student Body president, said his party’s campaign tactics differ from those of the Unite Party in several ways.
Cavataro said the Student Alliance party sent teams of representatives to campaign at a UF satellite campus, which includes pharmacy and health science students.
They answered questions about the proposed Reitz Union fee and also discussed how it could adversely impact satellite campuses, Cavataro said.
Cavataro said the trip was really about engaging with an entire population of people that are not connected to the main campus in the way that they should be.
If SG elections featured online voting then these students would be totally enfranchised, Cavataro said.
Representatives who traveled to satellite campuses also discussed how they could offer more events and programs for professional students.
“We’re really making a special effort to engage with all communities,” Cavataro said.
Cavataro said the Student Alliance party has also held fundraisers with local businesses, and party members walked students to class with umbrellas during bad weather.
“We’ve just been trying all different sorts of things,” Cavataro said.
Unite Party spokesman Ben Meyers said the only change the Unite Party has made to its campaign tactics involves making the campaign more extensive.
The Unite Party executive candidates began a 24-hour campaign push at 5 a.m. that will end at 5 a.m. Wednesday.
They will be campaigning on campus, visiting the late-night study spots in the Hub and visiting local hangout spots.
“They just want to do everything they can to meet every person they can,” Meyers said.
Meyers said Student Body President Jordan Johnson did something similar last spring while he was campaigning.
“We’re proud to still hold the values we held when we were founded,” Meyers said.
