Yohance Whitaker ’16 and Catie Pinkerton ’16 held a rally Wednesday, March 24 to wrap up their 10-day campaign for Student Assembly president and vice president, respectively.
According to Campaign Manager Yussre ElBardicy ’16, the pair has strived to speak with as many students as possible.
ElBardicy said that she thinks Whitaker and Pinkerton did a good job reaching out and connecting on a personal level when speaking about their political platform.
Throughout the 10 days, the pair conducted a whiteboard campaign. They stood outside popular campus locations like the Sadler Center and asked supporters to take a photo with their reason for choosing the ticket written on the whiteboard. These photos were then uploaded to various social media platforms. ElBardicy thinks the whiteboard campaign was a strong outreach point for Whitaker and Pinkerton.
“[The whiteboard] let people fill in why they were voting for them, which I think showed the range of reasons that they’re both great candidates,” she said in an email.
Whitaker continued using the whiteboard during the rally, which began late due to technical difficulties. Sen. Chase Jordan ’15, who works with Whitaker in the SA Senate, said he felt energetic in drawing in passersby and promoting the pair.
“I think that it’s awesome that Yohance and Catie are doing something outside of the typical campaigning,” Jordan said. “It just kind of fosters that community bonding because I think what really attracts me to this ticket more than the other ticket is Yohance’s love of this campus, and I think [the rally] is a great example of him bringing positive energy to something.”
The rally drew in numerous students who only stopped for a quick photo or conversation. There were only seven or eight core members who stayed for the whole event.
The rally included a performance by the College’s Improvisational Theater group. I.T. played three of their games — all related to politics — and Whitaker and Pinkerton were volunteers for the second. Ryan Goss ’16 was one member of I.T. who participated in the show.
“We are performing for Yohance and Catie because I am really invested in Yohance and Catie’s mission,” Goss said. “I believe that they are the best candidates for the job, so we wanted to come out and have some fun and support them today.”
Due to the lack of spectators, I.T.’s skit was pushed back on the agenda. For the most part, the candidates were mingling, dancing and trying to catch passing students’ attention. ElBardicy said she wasn’t concerned with the lack of an audience.
“We really just wanted to have fun here, and it’s the day before the election so we just wanted one last kick-off for the people who are supporting Yohance and Catie, and we figured what better way than music on this beautiful day,” ElBardicy said.
After the I.T. show finished, Zachary Monjo ’16 played acoustic guitar and sang several songs while the crowd joined in.
