Board of Elections Chair Emily Ann Kokol was out of line when she forced me to take down my campaign banner that hung from the parking garage. It was the kind of power-starved attitude that she exhibited that makes people hate the Student Government.
Before placing the 14-foot long banner that read, "Mayer For President, Vote Tuesday," I thoroughly read through the BOE's rules regarding campaigning. The word "banner" appears only once in the rules, expressly stating that no banners are allowed to hang on the quad. Nowhere are any regulations mentioned about the parking garage.
I had the banner approved by the BOE before I hung it. I specifically asked where I was not allowed to hang it. They told me that it could not go on the quad or be within 15 feet of a "polling place" once the election started. That was fine by me. The garage was completely fair game.
More than simply wanting to get myself attention, hanging this banner was about making the process of running for office fun. The BOE has such stringent rules, it is no wonder that only eight people applied for the four executive positions. Campaigns for student government should be about who is the most creative, not who is the most popular.
I was very proud of my banner. More than simply a campaign sign, it was the most clever campaign tactic I had ever seen used. A huge banner, hung where everyone could see, in complete compliance with the rules and nobody had ever done it before.
Ms. Kokol was not as impressed with my banner as I had hoped. She demanded that I take it down, citing a rule that says that candidates are not permitted to campaign inside Bender Arena.
First of all, the banner was clearly not inside. It was outside. Secondly, the parking garage is not Bender Arena. It might be attached to Bender Arena, but it is not Bender Arena. Anybody can see that. Anybody except Ms. Kokol.
It is my opinion that she simply could not deal with the fact that I had maneuvered my way around the rules so well. People like Ms. Kokol only take positions like chair of the BOE because they are desperate to feel important and could never develop the internal fortitude to put their own name on the ballot. So they thrive off of making other people's lives difficult by enforcing upon them unnecessary burdens.
Ms. Kokol ought to lighten up. She exemplifies the reason people are apathetic towards the Student Government. I congratulate President-elect MacCracken on his victory and urge him to keep this in mind as he moves forward. If students are ever going to care, the SG needs less regulation, more transparency and, most importantly, needs to take itself a little less seriously.
Mike Mayer, Junior, School of Public Affairs Former Student Government presidential candidate
