Eat, Sleep, Campaign by MSU McMaster

EAT, SLEEP, CAMPAIGN A HOW-TO GUIDE FOR BEING ELECTED TO STUDENT GOVERNMENT By Mary Koziol

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 4 4 5 8 14 16

INTRODUCTION PREPARATION Preparing yourself Choosing your team Building your brand Refining your platform Devising your strategy

20 20 21 21 21 22 23 23

CAMPAIGN PERIOD Communication strategy Day-to-Day Maintaining your drive How to deal with #DRAMA The Harsh Realities of Campaigning Polling Days The Wait

24 24 24

THE AFTERMATH Thank yous Returning to regular life

FINAL THOUGHTS

INTRODUCTION DEAR CANDIDATE, So you’re considering running a campaign to be elected to Student Government. Congratulations! You’re about to embark on an adventure that will help you to discover new things about yourself and your school; a journey that will challenge you, test you, and make you question everything from the way you dress to your true feelings about environmentalism. Maybe you’ve already participated on several campaign teams, or even been a campaign manager; perhaps you’ve already run a campaign yourself; or maybe, like when I ran for MSU President in 2010, it is going to be your first experience being involved in a campaign. Whatever your background, anyone can run a campaign. This How-To guide is for all. In addition to my own experience, I’ve integrated thoughts and tips from other candidates and former MSU Presidents to provide you a multitude of perspectives on the art & science of running a campaign. Campaigns can be demanding and intimidating-- but with a determined mindset, a great team and thorough preparation, you can successfully share your message with the larger student body. This guide will take you through the steps, from starting out to celebrating. Given my personal experience, this guide will be most helpful to students hoping to run for the role of MSU President; however, certain sections (such as strategy) could prove beneficial to students running for any elected position. Over the years, I have had many chats with presidential hopefuls about how best to run a campaign. Given that I started from scratch, I certainly learned (often the hard way) the do’s and don’ts of campaigning. This guide is an amalgamation of everything I discovered and the mistakes made and lessons learned along the way. While I do not purport to be an expert, I hope that the lessons from my colleagues and I can provide you with a basic blueprint to lead you forward. Do not hesitate to reach out to me or to the others who have contributed to this guide… and on behalf of all of us, good luck! Sincerely,

Mary Koziol MSU President 2010-2011

PREPARATION PREPARING YOURSELF Whether you have given yourself weeks or months to prepare, use your time wisely. For an MSU Presidential race, I would suggest you began your preparations at least 3 months in advance. Preparing for a campaign is a very time-consuming process, so make sure that you find a way to balance your school work, your extracurricular activities and your campaign preparation. It is easy to get lost in the excitement and competition that is rampant within political races, but as a university student who will need to return to regular life regardless, academics must remain your priority. Talk to your professors in advance of the election to see if there can be any flexibility with regards to due dates, missed classes and so forth. They will be much more receptive to this discussion if you are proactive. Once you have decided you want to run for a position, you need to take some time for some careful self-analysis. I wrote a letter to myself; in it I outlined:  Why I was doing this  Why I thought I was the best person for the job  What my strengths and weaknesses are This is one of the most important parts of your preparation. The reason being is quite simple: in the world of politics, people talk a lot. Your confidence will constantly be called into question; you’ll continually be pushed to reassert why you want to do this and why you’re good for the position. During the campaign process you work very closely with your team and your supporters. It can be easy to adopt someone else’s ideas as your own. While it is crucial to be flexible in your thought and to think of your campaign as an amalgamation of multiple ideas and viewpoints, you need to

retain your ability to think for yourself. You are the candidate, and once the campaign is over, you will be the person who will fill the position. Make sure you are building yourself to eventually be able to stand on your own. In the more trying moments, you will start to lose sight of why you began this process in the first place. Writing this down, and reading it when you’re beginning to doubt yourself and your prior motivations will be grounding. Additionally, campaigning can be a grueling process and it’s easy to lose the passion and enthusiasm with which you will begin. You need to constantly remind yourself of your initial zeal. When everything is over, all that you can ask is that you gave your absolute best. This self-addressed letter is a phenomenal tool to help sustain that energy. Right now is when you will be the most clear-headed; capture this, and use it later on. The next step is to prepare those around you. Consider sitting down with those who will be most affected by your campaign, such as your best friends, your significant other, your family and your housemates. Everyone will be affected by this process, and those closest to you are susceptible to feeling neglected. You will barely have time for yourself, let alone your social support network. However, it is imperative that you do not alienate this network. Explain that during this time period you will be a little absent as a friend, but encourage them to be honest with you about how they are feeling. This process can be very emotional, and you will need those around you for support. Finally, ensure you have an outlet. Whether it is reading, writing, exercising, meditation or listening to music, you will need a way to de-stress and unwind. Start experimenting with ways to balance the added workload while keeping yourself healthy.

CHOOSING YOUR TEAM The next most important step is choosing your team. The size of your team will depend on the magnitude of the election; if you’re running for President, you’ll want several campaign managers as well as a large core team. I chose my team managers before I began to recruit for the larger team. The managers will be the backbone of your team; they will need to give up large amounts of time, deal with considerable amounts of stress and be the orchestrators of the entire operation. The most valuable resource in a campaign is the candidate’s time. You want to ensure that, as the candidate, you are spending the maximal amount of time interacting with students and spreading your campaign message. Your managers are those who you trust to handle the logistics and to ensure the smooth execution of the entire operation. How many campaign managers you choose is ultimately up to you as there are advantages to both small and large teams. I settled on eight campaign managers, including myself. Whether you choose one person or a dozen, you need a well-balanced team with a wide assortment of skills. Here are the crucial skills that as a unit you and your campaign managers must possess: COMMUNICATION: (Facebook group and/or fan page, PR statements, daily communications including question and answer) This task should be largely left to you and one other person. Make sure your communications director is capable of answering questions and writing statements that are consistent with your message. Do as much of this yourself as possible (especially responding to students who write you with questions); it shows you are approachable and committed to communicating with those you strive to serve.

DESIGN: (Logo, posters, website) Campaigning is all about marketing; in this case, you are marketing yourself. Having aesthetically pleasing posters and a memorable logo is essential to catching the eye of students, as well as a Facebook page and website where students can learn more about you and your platform. This is also vital to the branding process, which is discussed later in the guide. VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT: You will likely have a number of volunteers to help out with your campaign. Given that you are attempting to reach out to thousands of students, a larger team is often preferable. Ensure that there is someone responsible for looking after the volunteers in order to make sure they are kept in the loop about events and activities and that they are able to make the most out of their donated time. WEBSITE MANAGEMENT & PROGRAMMING: Given our internet-savvy culture, a well designed, user-friendly website can be one of the strongest tools in the campaign. You will need someone who is willing to work with you and your designer to create a website that accurately reflects your candidacy. BUDGET: You will be given a budget, the size of which is dependent on the type of election (the MSU Presidential race has a budget of $500). Someone should be responsible for creating a mock budget, tracking expenses, collecting receipts and ensuring that you do not exceed your spending limit. Effectively managing your budget will protect you from fines and allow you to make the best use of the money to buy campaign materials. STRATEGY: Strategy is something that may be mostly the portfolio of a single manager, or may be more of a group effort. When designing a logo,

KEY POINT Make sure you show appreciation for your campaign managers. It is easy to take them for granted, but remember that they are instrumental to your success. Find different ways of showing this appreciation. I included a page on my website with a photograph and biography of each member; they are as much a part of this campaign as you are, and should never be overlooked.

purchasing campaign materials and refining the platform, strategy should always be considered. How will you differentiate yourself from the other candidates? How can you give yourself a competitive edge? The ultimate goal is name-recognition and visibility. When students go to the polls, you want to find some way of making sure that your name is the one that they remember. MEDIA: The goal of a good campaign is to have a following. Media is an excellent way to gain interest within the student population; releasing videos, updating your Facebook group or page, creating photo albums and providing regular updates is an excellent way to build and maintain this interest. PHOTOGRAPHY: People like to attach a name to a face. This was a difficult process for me; I found the idea of pasting my face all over campus challenging. However, it is a very important part of increasing recognition and visibility on campus. Find someone who is able to take professional photos. Unfortunately, people can be quite judgmental, and poor-quality photography and posters are an easy way to deter voters. EVENTS: You may or may not choose to include events in your campaign. I did, as I was keen to utilize different mediums to engage students in the

process. The events I held included several flash mobs (where a large group of people spontaneously perform an action in public, such as singing or dancing), rolling rallies (where a medium-sized group of people visit different areas of campus and spread out to talk to as many people as possible) and a coffeehouse. RULES: With any campaign, the Elections Department will provide a detailed set of rules. Someone should be responsible for being very familiar with these rules so that they can act as a point of reference, and educate the entire team on how to adhere to these rules in order to avoid fines and disqualification. RESEARCH: A well-thought out platform will require lots of research. As well, you will likely be posed questions that will require additional research. While the bulk of this responsibility should fall upon you, it is helpful to have one or two others who are willing to help you in this domain. LOGISTICS: Campaign period will involve numerous events and commitments, from classroom visits to debates, you will need a comprehensive schedule. It is advantageous to have someone else responsible for this.

As stated before, I had eight campaign managers (including me). We divided the responsibilities as follows: The Candidate (me) – the face of the campaign, responsible for communication, research and participating in all other areas as needed Volunteer Coordinator – responsible for volunteer management, created daily schedules for the volunteers, worked with the Logistics and Events coordinator to facilitate rolling rallies and flash mobs First-Year Coordinator – the same portfolio as the Volunteer Coordinator, but responsible specifically for the First Year team Communications Director – responsible for website design and updates, all communication duties including media and photography, as well as all design work Logistics Coordinator – responsible for logistics duties, working closely with Volunteer Coordinators to synchronize scheduling Events Coordinator – responsible for the organization involved in all of the events, such as recruiting acts and finding a location for the coffeehouse The Enforcer – responsible for being familiar with the rules, research and budget The Backbone – should be someone with previous campaign experience (my Backbone was the campaign manager for the incumbent MSU President). Responsible for providing experience, strategy and helping with research. Once you have your campaign managers, I suggest brainstorming a list of all of your To Do’s (logo, website, platform, etc.) and then using a shared calendar to map out your deadlines. I found things got very rushed as the campaign approached, and certain things (like making a video) fell by the wayside. Setting goals and deadlines will help you get everything set up in advance, so when campaigning draws near, you can focus all of your efforts on getting out there and talking to students.

Chris Martin, one of the campaign managers for Vishal Tiwari (MSU President 2009-2010) and VP Education (2009-2010) shared the following insight with me: “It needs to be a community: At our first meeting we had a diversity of groups from different communities at McMaster - pre-existing communities who already were looking for something fun to do with their friends. We held an initial meeting at the Phoenix that was more pub-night than formal meeting, and made sure that everyone was talked to (particularly those who didn’t appear to know most of the rest of the room). Turns out being friends with Vish was a good common point of conversation, and people made friends with each other pretty easily. This spirit kind of carried throughout the campaign. I think people honestly had a good time coming to our HQ and meeting up with friends. We tried to keep it light and fun, and I think this really paid dividend when we asked people to do things. It wasn’t just for us, or Vish, it was a fun thing they were doing with friends.” Anna D’Angela, VP Administration (2013-2014) and a member of numerous MSU Presidential campaigns shared the following: “For people considering running for President: the most important thing you can do is surround yourself with supportive people. This experience is hard. There will be times where you will feel frustration and doubt. Having people around you who believe in you and support you is critical. Tactically, try to find team members and supporters who come from all of the different parts of campus life. This way, you can share your message with a broader array of people and ensure you are working to represent the diverse needs of McMaster students.”

BUILDING YOUR BRAND A ‘brand’ is an all-encompassing term that describes the image that you are advertising to students. This includes everything from your slogan, your campaign colour(s), any other designed-material that you produce as well as the general themes of your platform. The key with branding is consistency; you want to create a brand that people will remember and associate with you when they go to vote. My brand was the purple M (for Mary, McMaster). The theme of my campaign was addressing student government with optimism and an underlying sense of pragmatism. Everything from the slogan ‘imagine more’ to the colour purple was chosen in a hope to convey this message. In order to solidify this brand, we also designed a specific M for each pillar of my platform: communication, sustainability, networking and services. As well, we reiterated ‘more’ in every piece of campaign material we produced.

I used three waves of posters. We printed hundreds of posters, which we posted all around the entire campus. Though it seems superficial, making students remember your name is the most important thing you can do, for when it comes polling time, that is what matters the most. As well, on the ballot, names are listed as “LAST NAME, First name” so it is important students become familiar with your last name as well.

You want to create a brand that people will remember and associate with you when they go to vote. I have seen many interesting and creative approaches to branding over the years, and you’ll need to settle on something that suits you. To get your creative juices flowing, here are some examples provided by previous candidates:

Vishal Tiwari, MSU President 2009-2010

Siobhan Stewart, MSU President 2012-2013

Siobhan’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Vote-Siobhan-Stewart-for-MSU-President-Something-For-You-2012122979361156503/?fref=ts Siobhan’s campaign video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtyhxYFiKnE

David Campbell, MSU Presidential Candidate 2012 MSU VP (Administration) 2012-2013 MSU President 2013-2014 Davidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campaign video (2012): www.vimeo.com/140798396

Ehima Osazuwa, MSU President 2015-2016

Justin Monaco-Barnes, MSU President 2016-2017 “The first image is inspired from Obama's previous campaign as he is someone in a leadership role who I very much lookup to. I thought this was a great way to not only pay respects to someone who has shaped my perspective on leadership, but also do something that is a bit more fun than just your standard campaign picture.

The second image is an illustration of the slogan that represented our campaign, “Be The Change”. Just trying to incorporate an artistic, creative element to the overall brand. The final image is the Facebook banner. This image mirrored the posters we used in order to have continuity with all of our branding/media. The idea behind this concept was to make it very clean, with a clear, concise message. The largest, clearest thing should be the your name, along with your picture. Contrasting the black and white was also done purposefully in order to make the name stand out as much as possible amongst a sea of different posters.”

Justin’s campaign video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_YXsKLKHJ4

REFINING YOUR PLATFORM Creating a platform that is realistic but interesting can be extremely challenging. Here are the steps I took to compile mine: 1. Sit down with your campaign managers and brainstorm issues and problems you’ve had as a student. Then consider ways in which student government could help improve these. Hopefully you already have a few ideas or at least a general direction. If not, you should spend some time thinking about what your ‘vision’ is and why you’re running. 2. Arrange meetings with various people from the university: students, faculty, alumni, staff. I met with students - part-time, full-time, society and club presidents and members, service managers, SRA members, MSU volunteers, commuters, off-campus students, students in residence, students from different faculties - and full-time and part-time MSU staff. Ask people what they would like to see from their student government? How could the student government improve itself ? What could the student government do to improve their educational experience? What would make them care? You are running to become a representative of students, so take the time to understand what students actually want from their elected representatives. 3. Take notes at all of these meetings and start to craft platform points from recurring themes. Once you have some solid ideas, create an online web document (I used Google docs) and invite your campaign managers. After each point, include a section for discussion where everyone can include their opinions on feasibility, possible obstacles, and next steps to take in terms of research.

4. Do your research. Talk to the people who would be critical in implementing your platform promises; people do not appreciate it if you propose large changes to their services or projects without consulting them. Once campaigning starts, people will ask questions and offer criticisms about your platform. Make sure it is well researched so you can defend your points. You should understand what has been done by the previous year’s MSU President/Board of Directors and have an opinion on various projects, so be sure to read the State of the Union (it will be advertised on the MSU website around the time of presidentials) and attend the SotU address. 5. Constantly research, refine, record. I had a couple of my campaign managers help me with the research in the weeks leading up to campaign. Talk to as many people as possible; bounce your ideas off others as often as you can. This will help you gain a more rounded understanding of your goals. 6. Present the platform in an engaging way. I used the format of framing each point as “The Problem” and “My Solution”. I tried to frame my points in a way that would help students see the relevance. However, there are other ways to do this – be creative! 7. Finally, make sure the platform you produce is reflective of you. You should care about the implementation of your points, otherwise you will have difficulty achieving your promises. Most of my points touched on things I was quite passionate about (such as introducing a local foods Farm stand on campus) so I was able to speak about these with great ease and abundant enthusiasm.

KEY POINT Take the time to learn about the organization you want to run. I highly recommend meeting with MSU full-time staff, such as the General Manager, and the current MSU President. While you can and should think differently than those currently leading the organization, you need to understand how it functions before you publicly propose changes.

Chris Martin (Vishal Tiwari’s campaign manager 2009) offered the following: “Core message: Every campaign needs to decide what it's about - and have a good bumper sticker message for that thing. Usually the choice is between change or stability. Our campaign slogan - "For students, not forgetting students" was explicitly designed to suggest a change in tone. The Sil that year had been full of anti-MSU stories, particularly noting a sense of detachedness. We picked a theme that tried to say "we are going to do things differently, and you're going to know us". Our actual ideas were picked to be things that were fairly incremental and implementable. If we could show results we could build trust with the student body over the course of the year. However, what was way more important than the platform was the core philosophy”.

DEVISING YOUR STRATEGY Campaign strategy is a very general term that describes how you will separate yourself via your campaign from your competitors. With student government, you need to ask the following questions: 1. Which groups am I trying to appeal to? Campus has numerous pockets of students. You will find the most success in targeting specific groups. For example, if you’re platform is particularly environmentally-friendly, make sure you are reaching out to groups who care about these issues. 2. What campaign materials am I going to use? There are a number of ways to get your message out there; choose wisely. With the $450 I was allotted for my Presidential campaign, I spent it on 400 posters, a website, pamphlets with my platform points, tea and lollipops with stickers that had my logo and website, 12 purple helium balloons with ‘VOTE MARY’ written on them, bookmarks, t-shirts and pins. Students are busy, and you need to find a number of ways of getting their attention. My primary strategy was to direct students to my website as this had all of my platform points and information about me and my campaign. Thus, all of my campaign material emphasized my website. 3. How am I going to engage students? Speak one-on-one with as many students as possible. Many don't vote because they simply forget or they just don't know who to vote for. Classroom announcements are great for reminders, but everyone will be doing that; I recommend visiting as many classes as possible (including the 8:30 am ones! You will impress the students with your dedication). For my two-and-a-half week campaign period, I visited classes every hour starting at 8:30 am and continuing on to night class (with

the exception of attending my own classes). Don’t limit your campaigning to classroom talks, as the simple act of sitting with someone in a cafeteria and asking them questions about what THEY are concerned about rather than what YOU want to do for them will go a very long way. They will get to know you better, feel that they have been heard and that you will try in earnest to change things for the better. Most importantly, they will talk to their friends about why they are voting for you. Word of mouth is the key. Be everywhere. Be personable. 4. How am I going to be visible? Find creative ways of catching people’s attention. We experimented with a number of different techniques, such as flash mobs and rolling rallies. As well, we produced a campaign video (I’ve included some much better examples from other candidates in the branding section) and held a coffeehouse. Not everyone is interested in talking politics, but if you make your campaign an exciting event and use multiple mediums to engage people, you will be able to secure a much broader support base. 5. How am I going to keep my team organized? This is largely the challenge of the volunteer coordinator(s). Choose a headquarters where campaign team members can stop by to pick-up campaign material, or meet prior to an event. My headquarters changed locations in order to ensure maximum exposure; we rotated between the Commons cafeteria, the Student Centre and Mills library. I’ve seen some really creative takes on how to make Campaign HQ visually engaging such as large posters, lots of colour, balloons, the candidate’s name spelled in giant letters, etc. Try and create a friendly, welcoming environment that draws students in.

6. What is going to be my approach to other candidates? In many elections (modeled on what we see at the provincial and national scale), campaign teams attempt to leverage themselves by making the other teams look bad. Much of the criticism you will receive about your platforms is from other campaign teams. Decide how critical you want to be of others; if someone is running against you with a very faulty and poorly-research platform, you will want

to make sure that students are aware of this. Given that most students have limited knowledge of what is feasible at a Student Government level, campaign teams should work to hold each other accountable by offering criticisms. Having said that, keep it clean. Once the criticism becomes petty or personal, you will lose respect from the student population and the race itself will be seen in a negative light.

Here are some thoughts from former MSU Presidents on their strategies, and lessons learned along the way: Jason Stevens, MSU President 1994-1995 “To paraphrase Geraldine Kenney-Wallace, “is it art or is it science?”. In my experience it is a bit of both. When I ran in the largest slate (12 candidates) I had to employ as many people as I could in the undertaking. I established a presence on campus in the years leading up to it thinking it would make the job easier and it did. I followed some basic rules - make an excellent poster, speak to as many classes as possible (90ish), and rehearse your speech. I ran for VP the year before and lost. I was sad and near Hamilton Hall, I asked the sitting university president for advice. He suggested I leave the MSU. Disregarding his advice I felt that I had this goal to be president and quitting was not in my character. I was resolute that I would do a great job and I spent most of the next nine months living and breathing the MSU.” John Popham, MSU President 2006-2007 “As the adage goes; keep it simple stupid. Give yourself three key platform ideas that are both genuine and appealing to your future constituents. It’s fine to have a well-established 100 point plan that digs deep into the core of the by-laws and constitution, but if you publicize and advertise it, students will have a hard time following along, and the campus media will hold you to every comma and hyphen. A well thought out three point plan will drill home your message and allow you to relate every question you’re asked back to the plan. Hit the pavement, hard. It’s tough; you’re a student with a full course load and a social life that you want to remain intact. Unfortunately, that balance goes out the window during the campaign period, it is important to be present, to be seen by voters as a student like them who can best stand up for their rights. Get up and take 5 minutes to talk about your three point plan to every class you have that week (or two),

and when you’re not in class, set up appointments with professors to speak at other classes. When you’re not speaking to a class, try to get out to various club events, and when you’re on your way to those classes and events, stop and talk to students in the hallway or at the gym or in line at the cafeteria. Every personal connection you can make is one more vote you will need. Stay true to your course, believe in yourself and constantly remind yourself, YOU are the best person for the job.” Vishal Tiwari, MSU President 2009-2010 “MSU President’s look and act like Presidents - so walk the walk, and talk the talk…now! Serve the entirety of the student body despite the shit you all put each other through. Show a deep appreciation of the life of a common student. Learn to love your rival. People over Platform.” Matthew Dillon Leitch, MSU President 2011-2012 “Campaigns to me are about conversations. People can sense insincerity and a good candidate is someone who doesn’t just push their ideas, but actively listens to the concerns and thoughts of who they are trying to represent. Oftentimes campaigns focus so much of their effort on arguing with those who disagree and their opponents, rather than listening to what people need and demonstrating how they intend on addressing that. Go talk to the people around you, forget how awkward it can all feel and do it. Ask them what they would like to see from whatever level of government you are running for. Find out what motivates them. Not only will this set you apart from your opponents and humanize you, it will also provide you real human stories to pull from when speaking with others. If you are fortunate enough to win, don’t think that just because the election is over you can stop listening; it will only lead to further cynicism. Engage the people you have been elected to represent and prove that public service is a noble cause. Continue those conversations, it will allow you to be an even better public servant and encourage others to get involved. Lastly never forget what made you run in the first place. It is easy to get distracted by the noise that comes with politics and campaigns, and this will help keep you grounded.” 18

Alicia Ali, MSU President Candidate 2011, MSU VP Education 2011-2012 “If at first you don’t succeed, try again. And then maybe one more time. In 2011 I ran for MSU President under a banner of community engagement, inclusion and student opportunity. Years later, these values continue to guide elections around the world, but my experience executing those values serve as a reminder of how not to run a campaign. You see, I very humbly lost that election. And I didn’t just lose, I came in third place. Of all the things I learned, here’s a snapshot of the basics. First, your team matters. Arguably, just as much, if not more than the candidate. A successful campaign is run by a team of diverse and resilient students who can detangle complicated ideas and spit them out in punchy messaging. Second, your name matters. Branding is important, but name recognition is more important. It’s easy to get caught up on choosing a campaign colour and slogan but on voting day the only thing students will see on the ballot is your name. And third, people matter. In a time where social media is the driver of all communication, the truly successful candidate is one that owns the ground game and commits to the grassroots tactic of meeting as many students as possible. Find volunteers who are comfortable talking. These are your ambassadors. They can help to spread your brand. After all, a leader is only as strong as their team.” David Campbell, MSU President 2012-2013 “First, the most important part of your campaign is the people around you. They will help you with ideas, expand your skill set, and keep you motivated. You need people with unique talents and different social circles, but most of all you need people who believe in you and keep you inspired. Focus on building the best team you can. Second, always remember - no matter how hard you work or what you do, you may lose your election. You will have attached your name and face to a brand that’s spread all over campus. Make sure you run a campaign you’ll be proud of after it’s done.”

First, the most important part of your campaign is the people around you. They will help you with ideas, expand your skill set, and keep you motivated.

CAMPAIGN PERIOD COMMUNICATION STRATEGY Communication is key. Think of your campaign as a test-run for what your position in office will be like as people will judge you accordingly. If you can demonstrate that you are able to communicate consistently and effectively, this will speak volumes about your ability to communicate once elected. You need to communicate with students, with other campaign teams and especially within your own campaign team. Here is what I would suggest: 1. Hold daily debrief meetings with your managers. Core team members should be welcome (but not obligated) to attend 2. Have one of your managers send out a daily debrief e-mail. This should be a recap of everything that went well, didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go well and areas for improvement. This should also include the schedule for the next day, where headquarters will be and any events that are upcoming (such as a debate). 3. Maintain some form of consistent communication strategy with students. I chose a blog and twitter; this allows students to follow the campaign. The blog I used to update students on how I felt about various issues as they arose (if they were not already addressed in my platform) such as lobbying about our registration system or my opinions on the provincial and national lobbying organizations OUSA and CASA. I used Twitter to update students on where headquarters was, which classes I was visiting, what I was doing and where I could be found in case they had questions or concerns. I included my Twitter feed on the main page of my website. I think social media has evolved in many ways since my time, so try to engage people who are experts in this realm to harness its full potential.

If you can demonstrate that you are able to communicate consistently and effectively, this will speak volumes about your ability to communicate once elected. 4. Answer all of the questions, criticisms and concerns brought forward about your platform or candidacy. You should allot at least an hour or two each day to respond to online questions. You may wish to have a member or two of your campaign team help you with this as you want to spend as much time with face-to-face communication, however, it reflects poorly on you if you resort to this the majority of the time. I would answer questions in the morning after my 8:30 am class announcement before campus got busy, and in the evening. This can sometimes be a good way to use your time when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re feeling overwhelmed. Provide detailed, thought-out responses and do additional research if you need to answer the question properly. This is an example treating people with the attention they deserve. Ignoring student questions or constantly having your campaign managers communicate on your behalf will make students feel like you are not willing to give them the time of day. 5. Communicate with other candidates. Rumours spread quickly within highly political environments, so take a proactive approach in addressing these and go speak to other candidates regularly. Many of the conflicts that could arise between you and your opponents stem from miscommunication. Respect your opponents, and make sure they respect you as well. As competitive as this race can be, it is not the end of the world. As well, you may want to consider forming an alliance with another candidate. If voting is preferential, you may wish to urge students to vote for the candidate you would most like to have in office if you are not elected as #2 on the ballot.

DAY-TO-DAY Schedule your days. My logistics coordinator was responsible for compiling my daily schedule. This included the times and locations of the classes I was going to visit and any events going on that day. Take the time to look after yourself, eat healthy and exercise regularly. I would wear my t-shirt with the ‘M’ logo and website on it, and go to the gym in it. In this way, I could combine campaigning with personal needs. I also went grocery shopping beforehand and made food in so that I would not neglect my health during campaign period. Maintain a positive attitude, and constantly show appreciation for your volunteers. Taking care of yourself will allow you to continue to do this even when you are worn down and stressed out. MAINTAINING YOUR DRIVE Your enthusiasm will certainly wane, especially if your campaign period is relatively long. You are the nucleus of the operation and your attitude will be reflected in the entire team. It’s important to take the leadership role seriously to keep morale high. On more difficult days, feel free to enlist help. Whether it is asking a campaign manager or a particularly spirited core team member, find someone who can help you motivate and encourage the entire team. On a personal level, return to the ideas you wrote down at the beginning of this process as often as necessary. You may need to constantly remind yourself why you decided to do this and why it is important to you. Also find things that motivate you. I came across “The Audacity to Win” written by Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe. I found reading prior to the election about how Obama and his team persevered in a very difficult race extremely inspirational and mood-lift-

ing—it certainly helped to put the challenges of my campaign in perspective! HOW TO DEAL WITH #DRAMA As someone who considers themselves to be a pretty low-key person, the campaign and the preceding months were among the most dramatic of my adult life. People can be very competitive, and the campaign can be quite polarizing. Often, there is more tension between teams than between candidates. The simplest way to address drama is to talk to candidates directly. If you believe there is behaviour that you consider to be in “bad taste” (refer to the MSU Presidential rules) be sure to contact the CRO for further support. Emotions are heightened during campaign period, and things will resolve after the dust settles. Some of the people who treated me like Enemy #1 during campaign period later became colleagues and sometimes even friends. Try not to take things personally—you are being judged on an image that you broadcast publicly. People do not know you personally, and their comments and criticisms can sting. Stay close to the people who do know and love you, and accept the fact that not everyone will like or accept you. That’s okay—every single one of us has been there before. John Popham, MSU President 2006-2007, suggests the following: “If you are a fan of Kermit the Frog you’ll know, you catch more flies with sugar than you do with vinegar. Be respectful of your competition, be polite when responding to their questions, and if you find they are negative toward you, take the high road. Voting students will see this and take note, they’ll appreciate the level of respect you demonstrate, and it will reflect positively on voting

day. Remember to read up on your competition’s platform: in the end everyone running for the top spot is in it for the same reason, to best represent the student body, so they may just have a good idea or two that you can acknowledge and recommend following up with when YOU are voted student President.” THE HARSH REALITIES OF CAMPAIGNING

While my goal is to encourage a multitude of people to run for this role, especially those from non-traditional backgrounds, I feel responsible for discussing the potential repercussions of any public election. As I and others have alluded to throughout, the process can be difficult. McMaster exists within a society where discrimination based on race, culture, gender identity, sexual orientation and ability does exist, and the MSU is not impervious to these kinds of damaging beliefs and ideals. In addition to being judged for your ideas and personality, I have also seen people be judged on characteristics irrelevant to the job of MSU President. We live in a world where our leadership is still overwhelmingly heterosexual white men (but it continues to get better… because it’s 2016!). While I occupy many spheres of privilege myself, I did experience the challenges of running in the race as a woman. I found I needed to challenge gendered stereotypes (such as comments that I was not assertive enough, or that I “just didn’t look like MSU President material”). It is not easy to challenge mainstream leadership prototypes, however, I have seen many successfully do it over the years. Further to that, I have seen how much students appreciate when there are candidates like them. McMaster is a diverse student body, and our elected representatives should represent this. The negative impacts of campaigning are not limited to facing discriminatory attitudes.

I spoke to a few candidates about the negative experiences they had while campaigning and they agreed to include their thoughts anonymously: “The most alarming part of the campaign process was that, for the first time in my life, people actively sought to find and publicize terrible things about me and my ideas. It didn’t just feel like they were holding me accountable for the position; it didn’t even feel like they only wanted me to lose the election. It felt like they thought I was actually trying to do harm on others. This unpleasant accusation was most pronounced during the campaign, but persisted through my term as well. I have spent years trying to make sense of this part of the MSU President’s experience. Many of my reflections are irrelevant here, but two takeaways might be helpful for people thinking about running for the position. First, the hardships of running a political campaign are part of the public service package. If you want to do something like this, you need to be willing and able to make some sacrifices. Second, there often existed truth and logic in the malicious accusations that came my way. The reality is that leaders need to set priorities, and in doing so, they make decisions about what is important and what is less important or not important. A more thoughtful candidate than me would have understood this at the outset and would have been comfortable with the idea that they could not be all things to all people. That would have made them less susceptible than me to awfully hurt feelings and regret for the decision to run. If I’d known what the campaign process would have been like before deciding to run, I would not have done it. For what it’s worth, I’m glad I didn’t know!”

And from another candidate: “Make sure that you have the means to do an extra semester if the campaign negatively impacts your studies. While your campaign may have an amazing impact on students, the most lasting impact will be your success in school, so you are empowered to make positive impacts beyond McMaster. Make sure you have a team that supports you and is aware of the vulnerability you’re giving to the campaign. You’ll need their support. As a candidate with marginalized identities, prepare yourself for criticism from both sides; some will say you’re focusing on your identities too much, others will say too little. Think of ways you can make impacts even if you don’t win: are you bringing to light important issues that haven’t been talked about? Are you highlighting voices that haven’t been heard? How can you turn your campaign into a positive experience for you and your team, even if you are unsuccessful?”

It is not easy to challenge mainstream leadership prototypes, however, I have seen many successfully do it over the years. Further to that, I have seen how much students appreciate when there are candidates like them. McMaster is a diverse student body, and our elected representatives should represent this. Barriers exist for people from diverse and marginalized backgrounds in all aspects of life, and these elections are no exception. The impact campaigning can have on your mental health should not be trivialized. In addition to friends, family and professional counseling, please feel free to reach out to me and I will do my best to put you in touch with people who may be able to offer their own experience and support.

POLLING DAY(S)

Polling days are the most crucial hours of your entire campaign. Students are busy and overburdened, and unless enthusiastically reminded, will often forget to vote. The Presidential polling period was two days, so we made sure that our team was the most visible and vocal during those days. As well, since the campaign period was so long, we waited until these last days in order to be a bit pushier. During these final days, we handed out lollipops and pamphlets after classes (I would make a classroom announcement at the beginning) and encouraged students to go vote right after class. I had different members of my teams stationed across campus (but not within sight or sound of a polling station, as per the MSU Bylaws) to encourage students nearby to go vote. This was particularly helpful with one of my campaign managers from Health Sciences. He spent the day handing out tea in the library and encouraging people (especially those he knew) to go vote. THE WAIT

The wait is trying. I took the time to reflect on the campaign, including the other candidates’ and what I had learned from them. I did this so that if I lost, I could do so graciously. If you wait until after the election, emotions will be running high and you might lose sight of some of this perspective. If you win, celebrate! If you lose, celebrate! After such a long and difficult process, regardless of results you and your campaign team deserve to take a night, relax and reflect on your tremendous efforts over the previous weeks and months.

THE AFTERMATH THANK YOUS Whether you win or lose, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to show appreciation for those who helped you out along the way. If you win, the week after will be one of the more stressful as people will have newfound expectations for you, and a mountain of school work will likely be towering over your head. However, the longer you wait to show appreciation, the more you will forget just how much your team sacrificed for you. I recommend holding some sort of dinner or night out for your team managers, and making thank you cards or sending a thoughtful message to your team and anyone else who helped you. Though you should feel proud of yourself (and rejoice in this!) do not forget those that helped you get where you are. RETURNING TO REGULAR LIFE Returning to regular life can be very difficult as people may begin to treat you differently. A lot of people will be interested in setting up meetings with you, especially (if you ran for President) the

Vice-Presidential candidates. As well, you will now have transition to do and will be shadowing your predecessor. However, keep in mind that your academics are the primary reason you are at McMaster. This can be difficult to do, but your term does not start immediately. Make sure you keep communicating with students, and if possible, start doing light research for some of your projects. Keep yourself grounded as it is easy to get an inflated ego after your election because of the new attention you will be getting. However, once you begin, the criticism you receive will heartily outweigh the compliments, and you need to be ready to accept criticism and work through it. You will inevitably make mistakes, but if you can use these mistakes and learn from them, you will demonstrate your leadership and suitability for the position. Honesty is key; though people will now expect more from you, if you are upfront they will be much more understanding. As students, we can sympathize with a large workload, and will understand (for the most part) if you need to spend a lot of the coming months in the library, as long as you balance your responsibilities and relationships.

Though you should feel proud of yourself (and rejoice in this!) do not forget those that helped you get where you are.

FINAL THOUGHTS Despite experiencing the intensity of campaign period, I did not expect this guide to take so much time, or for it to be so long. What I remembered in writing this was just how time-consuming the process running a campaign is. Think holistically; there are numerous facets to this process and excelling in one or two areas will not be enough. Win or lose, this process will prove enormously beneficial. Personally speaking, I learned volumes about myself, about handling criticism and demonstrating assertiveness, I gained confidence in my public speaking skills, I learned a lot about the MSU and how to communicate this information to others, I was able to prove my discipline and determination and I grew incredibly close with my campaign team. This is an experience like no other, and it is truly unique; many years later I am still grateful for this experience, and see how it has prepared me for many professional challenges. Focus on enjoying yourself by meeting new people, strengthening relations, challenging yourself and stepping outside of your comfort zone. In this way, win or lose, it will be an incredibly rewarding experience. Be proud of yourself for having attempted such a daunting feat. As well, I suggest you engage yourself in some sort of reflection process post-Election. Writing this guide has been both enjoyable and illuminating. Given the pace at which life proceeds, it is easy to allow experiences to pass by without proper acknowledgment and consideration. In doing this, you risk to lose valuable insight that could be gained on your personal growth. As well, this guide was interesting to write because although

my campaign was well thought out and planned, the writing of the guide was similar to observing the whole process with a bird’s eye view. In doing so, I gained new insight on why certain plans were effective or in some cases, unsuccessful. Student politics certainly is not for everyone, but if it suits your fancy, I suggest you pursue it vehemently. It was my most rewarding extracurricular experience thus far at McMaster and the ripples from that experience continue to effect my life in positive ways. The bottom line of this guide (which applies to the world beyond student politics) is the importance of self-reflection. In order to constantly grow and improve, maintaining a critical lens that you can turn inwards is essential. Ultimately, the most important thing I walked away from this experience with was an increased sense of resiliency, a word which means “to return to the original form after being bent, compressed or stretched”. Though I had many moments of self-doubt, many instances where I made a mistake or did not stay true to myself, I walked away with a deeper understanding of myself, of human relations and of the kind of work I hope to do in this world. In closing, I wish you success and tremendous amounts of self-discovery. “Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it’s a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from” - Al Franken

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mary was President of the MSU in 2010-2011, and worked as assistant to McMaster President Patrick Deane from 2011-2014. She is currently in her 3rd year of medical school at McGill University, where she serves as class president. To get in touch with her, please contact: marykozi@gmail.com