10 Things to Know About Running for ASI

By: Dylan Tom 

I am Dylan Tom and I ran for ASI student body President. Running for ASI is a serious decision. It shows you really care about the university and have a plan to change it for the better. There are a lot of things that I was unaware of before I ran, and a lot of things that I did not expect. I encourage everyone to take an interest in joining ASI, and to run for office, but before you do here are ten things you should know about running for ASI.

1. Missing class to campaign is NOT a good idea. You will end up way behind in your classes and end up playing catch up at the end of the semester.

2. Running with a friend will make it much easier and more fun. Having
someone to bounce ideas off of, and someone to help with half of the campaigning, promoting, and PAYING for materials is a big help.

3. You will end up obsessed with your posters. 20 minutes everyday you are on
campus will be dedicated to checking to see if all of your posters are still in place, and if they are not you will die a little inside.

4. You will have to be comfortable with repeating yourself. You will give the
same platform pitch over 100 times throughout the campaign and answer the same questions over and over again.

5. Your emotions will be all over the place throughout. You will go from nervous to excited to stressed and everything in between.

6. You will have to become one with rejection. Trying to talk to people/ hand them your promotional material will not always go as planned.

7. As soon as you feel like you have done enough campaigning do MORE! There is always someone else to talk to and more people to spread your message to.

8. You will get involved with different groups and people that you may never have before. While campaigning you will meet different groups of people that all have interest and needs from ASI so try not to get overwhelmed.

9. You will become very passionate about your platform and become an advocate for change. Once you begin to feel that you really can make a difference you will be inspired more than you ever have been before.

10. Losing can be devastating and depressing but you need to utilize that spirit and energy you cultivated during your campaign and channel it into your next endeavor on your journey to success!