USG campaigning begins at midnight


By
 in ,

Undergraduate Student Government candidates posted their signs along Trousdale Parkway Monday at midnight to signal the beginning of the election season.

Students will elect the candidates for president, vice president and senators Tuesday, Feb. 12, through Thursday, Feb. 14.

The two presidential tickets’ signs have the same color scheme of blue, black and white. Each ticket had a team of about 10 students to help place signs between Jefferson and Exposition boulevards.

Presidential candidate and current Speaker Pro Tempore of the USG sentate Matthew Arkfeld, and Vice Presidential Candidate Alexander Cascante, a Greek senator, are campaigning under the slogan of “Think Different.” They said their slogan encompass their goals for the election.

“We want to get the whole student body incentivized, advocating for change and making it better for everyone,” Arkfeld said. “We want to make this night important. It’s about the change for everyone, and not our names on the change”

Arkfeld and Cascante noted that a quarter of the student body voted in the past election.

Presidential candidate Christian Kurth, the current USG director of university affairs, and Ryan Park, vice presidential candidate and current Greek senator, said exposure is a vital element of their campaign.

“We want to get to know as many people as possible,” Kurth said. “We want the student body to get to know our personality and we plan on being out here [on Trousdale Parkway] all day everyday.”

Both campaigns viewed the midnight sign posting as an important tradition in the USG election season.

“USC and tradition are one in the same. They go hand in hand. So it’s symbolic and practical that we be out here tonight,” Park said.

Cascante also recognized the significance of Trousdale Parkway to the university as a whole.

“Trousdale Parkway is the 405 Hwy of USC,” Cascante said. “So many students walk down it everyday, so [midnight campaigning]  is a staple of the election every year.”

Candidates running for senator positions also were out placing their signs with the help of their constituents.

Candidates can campaign throughout the week and events are scheduled for the student body to understand the candidates’ platforms more. A diversity forum will be held Monday night at 6 p.m. in room 450 of the Ronald Tutor Campus Center and the presidential debate will be held Wednesday.
Voting takes place Feb. 12 through 14.