In the past three days, if you haven’t been approached by a person in a purple or yellow t-shirt offering free pizza, you have either been locked in your room, or you have somehow made it to your classes while eluding about 20 tents and countless campaigners.
That’s right. It’s election week: a three day period where t-shirts are everywhere, the pizza is endless, and the voting has commenced. Although it’s now coming to a close, the campaigning has been intense. There have been tents outside of almost every college building, and even more people asking you for “a minute of your time”.
So, KnightNews.com went out right in the midst of all the chaos to see how things were going for each party. That’s right; we beat them to it. We asked them for a minute of their time, instead.
It comes as no surprise that each ticket will set up tents anywhere and everywhere possible. They were outside the Student Union, the Business Administration building, the Psychology building, Health and Public Affairs, and even Marketplace, just to name a few.
First, we were able to speak with Rob Enslen, who is running with the Unite Ticket for a seat in the College of Sciences. “We’ve gotten a lot of traffic,” Enslen said. “I think we’ll do a great job, and I’m looking forward to a competitive race.”
Also with the Unite Ticket is Darren Kaplan, who is running for a seat in the College of Sciences. Campaigning right outside the Student Union, Kaplan was interacting with almost everyone who passed by, and he didn’t hesitate to offer frozen water bottles, smoothies, and popsicles. “It’s going very well,” Kaplan commented. “People are engaged and informed.” He also didn’t forget to mention that everyone who voted got a “I just voted for Unite” sticker, so that “people would stop harassing them”.
We also noticed that some campaigners from the Unite Ticket even thought to set up outside the Classroom I building, where the majors are extremely diverse, and also behind the Student Union, where the buses drop students off from Pegasus Landing.
Additionally, KnightNews.com was able to talk to Michael Jacobs from the BAMF ticket, who is running for a seat in the College of Business. Energetically, Jacobs explained that the campaigning was going great, and it was “really intense”. “There has been a lot of traffic, but both [tickets] have a lot of support,” Jacobs said. However, he didn’t fail to mention a few negatives to the campaigning process. “It’s difficult when the Internet is down, and it’s hard getting people to acknowledge us,” Jacobs stated. “If only students knew how much Senate did, they’d be more willing to vote.”
Also from the BAMF ticket is Alessandra Araujo, who is running for a seat in the College of Sciences. She, too, commented on how high the traffic was. “The students are more interested this year than last year,” Araujo said. “Sometimes the students aren’t so approachable, but others will consider and listen. They [the students] need to know both platforms though.”
KnightNews.com was also able to catch up with William Lively, a co-leader of the BAMF ticket who is also running for a College of Sciences’ seat. “It’s going really well. The students are voting, and the competition is tough,” Lively said.
Now that the campaigning is coming to a close, make sure you go grab the last few slices of pizza, a popsicle, and a t-shirt. So, on your way to class when campaigners ask you for “a minute of your time”, don’t ignore them. Listen to what they have to say. Their platform just might benefit you as a UCF student, but don’t forget that you only have until September 30th at 5:00 P.M. to cast your vote!
The winners of each seat will be announced right after voting closes, so stay tuned for a follow-up article on the results!
