Campaign workers face long hours, hectic days

By BETH YOUNG
Collegian Staff Writer

When students head out to vote in the Undergraduate Student Government presidential elections next Wednesday, many will leave the polls never knowing the names, faces and commitment of the often invisible people who work behind the scenes of the campaigns.

For many campaign workers, campaigning during the two-and-a-half weeks before the elections takes control of their lives.

A typical day for Scott Payne, current Association of Residence Hall Students president and campaign worker for Josh Bokee and Kerith Strano, begins at 8 or 9 a.m. with calls to each candidate to tell them about the day's agenda.

He then heads out to spend the day going to class and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the campaign -- directing Bokee and Strano to where they need to be, making sure the volunteers are in the right place, fielding phone calls from the other campaign and ensuring maximum exposure for the candidates.

But Payne's involvement does not end when the sun goes down. He goes on to a night of more campaign activities, such as prepping the candidates for an upcoming debate, which is then followed by a wrap-up session where the day's activities are discussed. Finally, sleep comes at around 1 or 2 a.m., if it has been a particularly hectic day.

"We try to catch class when we can, food when we can and sleep when we can," Payne said.

Campaigning responsibilities can range from making fliers to escorting the candidates between different events, making catching up with classes difficult.

"It's a demanding time, but I got lucky because this semester I'm able to put academics on hold. I know though, that when the campaign is over, I'll have a lot of catching up to do," said Anne McSorley (junior-rehabilitation education), who oversees events and scheduling for Presidential Candidate Corey O'Brien.

McSorley also divides her time between various other student activities, spending the majority of her afternoons working in organizations she is personally involved in.

Then there are others like Corey Gesford (senior-history), who also manages to hold down a job and sit as Programming Director in the USG executive department while working on Bokee's campaign.

"There are points when I think I have too much to do, but that's the point when you realize you need help from other people on the campaign," Gesford said.

Gesford's responsibilities as a campaign worker have even included standing in for either Bokee or Strano at certain meetings when they have had other commitments.

Regardless of the demands involved, Rob Carter (senior-finance), campaign manager for O'Brien and Kara Annechini, said he enjoys what he does.

"It's not stressful, it's fun. If it is stressful, I just keep in mind who the students are and what they want," Carter said.

Reasons for working on a campaign differ. McSorley said that her strong interest in USG and the importance of knowing exactly who will be representing her prompted her involvement.

One common sentiment among some of the campaign participants was the idea of leaving behind a reliable and worthy student government.

"Being a senior, this is important to me. I've been involved in student government for four years and I've put in a lot of time and effort. I want to support someone who I believe will further the goals I've worked for," Payne said.