As the clock struck 12:01 on Thursday morning, the race for student government took off. Only a few hours prior, at 7 p.m., the Student Union held an informational session about student government elections and the reformed campaigning guidelines for this year.

Executive Senator David Herbstritt ’17 announced the Student Union’s new initiative to ban all poster and flier campaign advertising in an effort to equalize the elections race and increase environmental consciousness. Secretary Shuying Liu ’16 emphasized that any student found hanging posters or fliers would be disqualified from the race.

Herbstritt also added that candidates cannot distribute “giveaways” or any incentives which might give them an edge in the race.

In order to further level the playing field, Justin Carlisle ’13, Student Union Chief of Staff, announced that candidates can only use free computer software programs when creating digital advertisements so as not to put candidates without access to expensive software at a disadvantage.

“Placing a ban on these campaigning methods will require candidates to focus on other techniques such as social media outreach, email and face-to-face interactions with voters,” stated Carlisle. “Go to dining halls and talk to people about what you’re passionate about,” he urged the group. “It puts a name to a face and it’s better politics; you engage directly with your constituents.”

“I think [the new guidelines are] a great idea, but also a challenging one.” said Kate Kesselman ’19, a first year student running for Class of 2019 Senator. “This is my first time using Facebook. I actually created an account for this election, but it is worth more to learn and work on campaigning with technology instead of paper that is killing trees. I think that they should continue doing this in the future years and try to improve in any other way to make Brandeis a greener community.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, more than 20 students lined up to officially register for candidacy. Max Whitmore ’18 expressed his hopes of becoming “King of the Castle,” a title he attributed to the position of Castle Senator.

“Last year as a meager freshman, I realized I had too much free time … and I was really involved in my high school’s community, I really enjoyed it and I want to have a similar impact here at Brandeis; Brandeis has become my home.”

Andrew Jacobson ’19, a first-year student running for North Quad Senator, stated that he hoped to implement some new initiatives through a position in student government. “One of my initiatives is … to possibly extend the hours of both dining halls … and work more closely with maintenance,” he said. “I’ve heard some students have experienced mice or rats in their dorms, which is definitely not acceptable at a school like Brandeis.”

Kesselman also expressed her passion for effecting change through student government: “I did student government in high school,” she said.

“I was thinking the BranVan could become more sustainable—maybe a hybrid or electric … and I was also thinking of a secret snowflake, like a Secret Santa type thing but for all religions. … I think I could be a good connector between the students and what changes we can make.”

The current open positions are Ridgewood Senator, Class of 2019 Senator, Massell Senator, North Quad Senator, Castle Senator, Ziv Senator, Off Campus Community Senator, Transitional Year Program Senator and Representative to the Brandeis Sustainability Fund. The campaigning period concludes on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 11:59 p.m., and the official Student Union elections will take place all day on Friday, Sept. 11.