Clad in colorful T-shirts and armed with fliers, the presidential candidates for the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) spoke with students on the first floor of Findlay Commons last night.

Most students kept their heads down and walked by the candidates and their staff. Many said they were confused by the groups' presence and did not know what was going on.

"I stopped because of all the colorful shirts," Toni Gibson (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said. "I am not really sure what USG is."

The candidates were not very disappointed in the lack of interest. They used whatever time they had to inform students about USG, the elections process, and their goals and platforms.

"With the average student, you get five seconds," said Matt Ritsko, campaign manager for candidates Scott Sherbine and Alex Ibrahim. "If they are interested, then you get a little bit longer and more ideas can get projected."

USG Presidential Candidate Michael Peters said while many students did not want to listen to their campaign goals, he understood why.

"I think generally the audience tonight was hungry," he said of all the students hurrying to the dining commons. "But all it takes is one interested student."

The "Meet the Candidates" session, held during dinner hours in Findlay Commons, was the first formal promotion in this year's USG election campaign.

"This is a time [the candidates] get to promote themselves," said Erin Grady, voting and publicity elections commissioner. "This is also a good way to get students to talk to candidates."

Grady said the time and place was a strategic move to increase voter participation.

"We tried to plan them during busy hours to get more students interested," she said. "We also planned two ["Meet the Candidates" sessions] in East Halls to involve the freshmen."

Candidates had their own strategies to get uninterested students involved.

"You have to play to each individual and take an interest in their interests," said Joseph Budd, running mate of USG Presidential Candidate Robert Dinkelspiel. "That is what grabs their attention."

Most of the candidates shared the same opinion: The main point of today's session was to influence students to vote in the election, regardless of which candidates they choose.

USG Vice President Luke Adams said getting students interested in USG is difficult, but very important.

"It is something for us to work on -- an eternal struggle," he said.

Head Elections Commissioner Diana Maxham said the first campaign event was a success.

"I was glad to see so many people out there, and as the season goes on, they will be more outgoing and encourage more students to vote," Maxham said.