The Student Government Association elections gave the student body its next generation of leaders on campus, but all the campaigning, debates and P.R. comes with a hefty bill. Consider this-$8,836 was spent between the three tickets seeking the highest student offices with piles of stake signs, handbills and posters. That is roughly the amount a freshman spends on first semester’s tuition.
As a microcosm of the real political system of our great democracy, campaign finance reform is an issue that reared its fiscal head this year and in past SGA elections.
“It’s ridiculous to spend $3,000 to $4,000 on an election,” said Jon “Blake” Moore of the “Student’s First” ticket. This seems to be the response echoed by each student when he or she finds out the total amount spent by each ticket.
“Building a Legacy” spent $3,889.12, “The Next Step” used $3,067.76, and “Students First” came in third with $1,880.03.
What is all this money spent on? Most campaigns revenues go to posters, stake signs, T-shirts, cups, buttons, tri-folds and even web pages.
All of these items come with a fairly large price tag. For instance, the stake signs seen on campus during election day cost around $1,500 for each campaign and shirt totals come out to about $1,000.
Each year, the amount of money spent between the two biggest tickets gets larger and larger. “It’s like having to keep up with the Jones’, it is a disgusting process of who can out do who,” said President-elect, Mike Cappel.
He added, “Elections should be about sitting with groups and talking with students, and not about who has the most posters and signs.”
Chad Kreikemeier of “The Next Step” agreed, “You definitely need your name and face out there and [money] plays a factor. [The campaign] has a lot more to do with money than it should.”
Where does this money come from? Matt Love, of “The Next Step,” reported that each candidate for their ticket was asked to contribute around $200-$250.
The rest of the money comes from contributions made by friends, families and businesses willing to support the campaigns or give them discounts and campaigns items. The other two tickets follow a similar process.
Meghan Clune and the Election Commission have the tickets show their financial reports, which are available to the public in the SGA office. Bookkeeping requirements are the only obligations put upon the tickets. Hard, soft and “in kind” contributions are not specified.
Jay Perry sees no way to properly regulate campaign contributions or a spending cap. The current system makes it unrealistic to control spending in future elections.
He said it is too difficult to keep track of where money is coming from. Spot funding from SGA to offset the cost for the campaigning is not an option either. Perry does not see any justification to giving away students’ money for campaigning, and it runs “dangers of accountability.”
Perry proposes that SGA could implement changes in campaign finance by limiting the distribution and space of postings. This could significantly cut back on the amount of stake signs and posters and save substantial cost. Cappel is also open to finance reform for next year’s elections.
The issue of campaign spending is not merely a dilemma for the parties, but also for potential candidates, who are more than qualified to lead the student body, but are discouraged by the outrageous costs.
“I see it as a problem. Everyone should be able to run. When money becomes an issue it dissuades interested students”, Perry said.
Kreikemeier echoed this, “I wish it were done by those who were the best leaders.”
Blake Moore takes a little different stance. He does not see it as a problem, but more like a gamble. According to him, you simply need to play the odds. If you win, you get tuition remission.
However, with the campaign-spending trend as it is, eventually a candidate may be paying the equivalent of next semester’s tuition during the bid for office.
It would seem the campaign-finance reform problem is no easier to solve on a collegiate level then on the floor of Congress. But one thing is for certain, it is not getting any cheaper.
