One of the more amusing parts of this election season was writing my columns as if nothing was going on (since it would be more, or less, improper to use my column as a platform for self-promotion). But now, elections are over, so I can talk about them.
The spectrum of politically-inclined folks, in my view, ranges from policy-loving to campaign-loving folks. I’m not exactly a campaign-loving boy, since I will admit that I am typically pretty reserved, introverted, whatever. But yes, you gotta talk to people, you gotta listen to people and you gotta desperately shepherd them toward voting sites if you wanna win.
This season, I ran for my third Senate term. I honestly wanted to talk about standing around. I have figured out at this point that I put around 50 hours or so of canvassing for every election I’ve ran in. Stand in the same place for an extended amount of time, and you will start to notice things.
When I first ran for senator of Infinity Hall, I stood outside the entrance. I ran as an independent during that race, and because I didn’t have any political party shirts, I actually wore a suit for those sweltering 50 hours outside. Worse, I was a bit less used to campaigning back then, and I guess you could say I was pretty damn shy, so I really just meandered around the handrail and opened the door for people since I was too scared to talk to them.
Infinity Hall had a really weird Asian doorman that election season. That’s not even that weird since it’s a really nice residence hall that looks like a hotel.
As the days went by, I noticed the same people walking the same dogs. It sounds really impressive to say this, but I started to recognize the cars that came by. (I mean, it was really just one car that had distinct light-up rims.)
I bet you all the cents in my bank account that I even recognized the same darn birds that came around the area. They perched in the same tree and whispered the same sweet nothings into my ear every afternoon. I’m no bird expert, but I can distinguish between a hoot and a tweet.
The next year, I instead stood around in the Murphree Area during campaign season. I ditched the suit for a T-shirt affiliated with a political party, and there I was standing around in the courtyard making friends with birds. When my legs started to fail me, I would lean against the stone wall of the archway that I suppose you could consider my perch.
Oh, I guess I made friends with people too. Back at Infinity, I eventually mustered up the courage to start handing out flyers. People saw me as they left in the morning. People saw me as they came back at night and asked what I was doing. One way to avoid bothering somebody is to have them talk to you, I suppose.
So yes, I got to know people. I got to know their names, then their stories — the classes they had, the activities they participated in. In the case of the Murphree Area, some people who lived there last year stayed in the area, and I got to see them again. Sometimes, I didn’t say anything and just observed as they rushed by or chatted with their friends. It’s not all-encompassing, but I figured who knows who and how, all by just standing there in the same place.
I like to think I really got a sense of my community by standing out there all those hours. It’s important to get to know your community because, as senators, it’s our jobs to advocate on the behalf of and fight for our communities. To all the new and old senators elected or re-elected this past season, I look forward to keeping an eye on everything you accomplish for your constituents.
Zachariah Chou is a UF political science junior and Murphree Area Senator. His column focuses on Student Government.
