Some are making posters. Others will be displaying signs that read, "I'm out shaking hands, kissing babies and looking fabulous for the media" on their door handles. And one even shaved his hair into a mohawk for the occasion.
Whatever their tactic of choice, all 74 students running for the Undergraduate Assembly or Class Boards were officially declared candidates this morning as of 6 a.m., signifying the start of the campaign season.
Voting begins online through Penn InTouch on Tuesday, March 23, and continues for a week.
"I think it's going to be a great race," said Nominations and Elections Committee Chairwoman and College senior Melissa La Vigne last night at the NEC Candidate's Meeting.
As well as providing an overview of the NEC's Fair Practices Code -- which outlines regulations used to ensure equity in the campaigning process-- the meeting also served to introduce some new features to the Penn election routine.
For the next two weekends, candidates running for the UA will be featured in various debate sessions on UTV13.
"We wanted to make this campaign more about the issues," College junior Eli Schlam said, adding that students' "choices should be based on more than just posters and a 100-word statement."
Undergraduates will also have the chance to vote in a UA referendum during this round of elections.
"The UA passed a series of changes to their constitution," NEC Vice Chairwoman for Elections Rochelle Behrens said. In order for those changes to go into effect, at least 20 percent of the undergraduate student body must vote.
"These changes are mostly updates," said La Vigne, describing the measures called for by the UA as mostly "wording changes ... [and] a shifting of responsibilities."
Also, starting this year, if candidates have a charge brought against them by the NEC -- which can occur if someone violates the rules governing where posters can be displayed or exceeds the $50 spending limit -- they will be provided with a "public adviser."
The public adviser "will counsel them on the intricacies of the Fair Practice Code," Behrens said.
Though the NEC seems to have taken many precautions to ensure that the election runs as smoothly as possible, there are some things members could not control.
Presently, "nobody is running for Nursing on the UA," Behrens said. The College senior noted that it will only take 12 ballot write-in votes for a School of Nursing undergraduate to become an official candidate.
But many candidates remain excited for the upcoming period.
"There's nothing better than the thrill of election week," said UA member and College sophomore Gabby McLane.
Reminiscing about her past election experiences, UA member Lauren Dooley said her sentiments were bittersweet.
"I'm really excited [but] I'm a little sad that it's my last election," the College senior said.
