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The Dartmouth
July 21, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

SA pres. campaign tactics varied

This year's candidates for student body president all chose to employ traditional campaign tactics -- including the creation of Facebook groups, posters and chalking -- but, despite superficial similarities, each candidate's campaign teams differed in both size and philosophy, and achieved varied results throughout the campaign period.

Student Body President-elect Frances Vernon '10 sought to personalize her campaign through individual conversations and avoided mass e-mails, employing a "classic model of campaigning," she said. Vernon did not create YouTube videos, for example, a campaign hallmark of current Student Body President Molly Bode '09. Vernon said she believed a personal campaign is more effective.

"If the person you've talked to can convey that message, that has so much passion in it, it's always good," she said.

Bode, who characterized her own campaign as "viral," said she was surprised that none of this year's candidates utilized videos to help convey their message.

Vernon said changes made this year to the Elections Planning and Advisory Committee rules -- including a shortened election period and the elimination of candidate voting booths -- did not affect her campaign. EPAC set up its own voting booths in lieu of the candidate booths this year.

Both of Vernon's opponents, John Nolan '10 and Boyd Lever '10, however, pointed to the elimination of candidate voting booths as detrimental to their campaigns.

"The fact that EPAC won't allow you to set up your own voting booths dampens voter turnout in general," Lever said. "I think that's something Frances' and my camp struggled with yesterday -- making it easier, making it more accessible for people to vote."

Turnout in this year's presidential election, however, increased slightly to 2,136 ballots, up from last year's total of 2,022.

Bode said that she does not believe campaign-run booths are detrimental "as long as no one is dragging [students] to their booth."

Bode, however, did express concerns about some of the tactics employed by the candidates this year, noting that she had heard reports of members of candidates' campaigns bringing laptops up to voters and tearing down their opponents' posters.

"I was a little disappointed at some of the tactics campaign teams used -- I'm not sure if candidates used them themselves -- but to me it seemed a little bit more, in a way not clean campaigning exactly," she said.

Vernon said her campaign focused on making connections with members of the Class of 2012, the group she expected to be least familiar with her. Vernon met with "active" and involved members of the Class of 2012, who she believed could help spread her message, and also went door-to-door on first-year floors with some of her freshman supporters, according to her campaign manager Bonnie Lam '10.

Lever said he believed that the first-year students active in Vernon's campaign contributed to her success because "freshmen do vote and, overwhelmingly, they do care."

Vernon's campaign team consisted of 12 to 15 key individuals and a larger group of approximately 70 students who sent e-mails to their constituencies and assisted in smaller roles, she said. Vernon also made T-shirts, set up a table in the Collis Center and passed out stickers on election day as part of her campaign efforts.

"I think the stickers helped a lot the day of because they're so bright," she said. "I used those my freshman year, and I think they're helpful because they're visible."

Nolan said he limited his campaign team to approximately 10 people because he was concerned with controlling the flow of information about his campaign and adhering to EPAC regulations.

"I wanted a small campaign team because I was responsible for making sure that my team followed all of the EPAC rules, and I didn't want to be sanctioned," Nolan said in the e-mail.

Nolan's campaign involved a Facebook advertisement on election day, chalking around campus, and placing posters in first-year residence halls, Collis Student Center and Novack Cafe.

Lever's campaign tactics similarly included chalking, making pins and distributing an endorsement by The Dartmouth Editorial Board on election day.

EPAC chair Justin Varilek '11 told The Dartmouth that Lever's campaign received a sanction on election day after members of his campaign chalked the exterior walls of Collis. EPAC regulations prohibit chalking advertisements on the sides of buildings. Lever told The Dartmouth on Tuesday that he was not aware of any sanctions. Lever said he also went door-to-door in an attempt to meet more people during his campaign.

"You reach a demographic that's generally apathetic, and many of the folks I met from going door-to-door said they were not going to vote, but then they ended up voting," he said.

Lever's team consisted of three other students -- one from each class, he said.

"The core of the campaign was extremely small, and we hoped that it would be enough," Lever said. "I wanted to give people freedom in the campaign to do what they do best, while articulating the ideas I laid out in the platform."

Student Body Vice President-elect Cory Cunningham '10 said he found it effective to reach out to members of Student Assembly who had worked with him previously and encourage them to spread his message by word of mouth.

Staff reporter Ann Baum contributed to the reporting of this article.