Remaining Politically Active While Studying Abroad
A Binghamton University student runs for Student Association president while living overseas
By Dave Berkowitz

Because an absentee ballot system has yet to be devised for the State University of New York at Binghamton, a collegian studying abroad can’t vote in a Student Association election. A student can, however, run for office.

I served as the campaign manager for Devin Cohen during the Spring 2000 elections. Devin was 5,700 miles away, studying at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Technically, he was still enrolled at Binghamton, registered with 12 credits to ensure he wouldn’t have to reapply when he returned from Israel. His status as a registered undergrad was all he needed to run for office, according to the SA constitution. Once I read this and confirmed it with the Elections Committee, I knew Devin could get on the ballot as a candidate for academic vice president, a position he had considered running for long before he traveled to the Middle East.

Winning was one of the goals, but it wasn’t even the most important. First, Devin and I wanted to set a precedent to ensure that students studying abroad wouldn’t have to miss out on other aspects of campus life. Also, I wanted to help a friend follow through on his ambitions. Before Devin’s trip, he served as assistant to the academic vice president, co-president of his residence hall, and he was an active member of campus politics. Well-liked and respected, he was determined to take office. The only thing he lacked was a physical presence on campus.

Many potential candidates miss out on the chance to study abroad because they want to run for office either for SA or for a student group’s executive board. Devin and I felt studying abroad shouldn’t be a sacrifice; if someone wants to do it all, then so be it. If we ran a solid campaign and Devin commanded a sizeable percentage of the vote, then winning wouldn’t even be necessary.

Heading into battle, I established a web site for the candidate, along with an e-mail address and an Instant Messenger screen name. Our slogan was "Don’t dismiss a man as abroad." On one level a gender-bending pun, on another a call to take Devin seriously. We laced the meaningful message with sarcasm to keep things light-hearted.

I collected more than 100 signatures affirming Devin should be on the ballot before the campaign even began. This was the mandatory first step for all candidates. The elections chairperson faxed Devin an affirmation, which he had to sign and fax back. Then the Election Committee, the other candidate, and I had to agree on the terms of the campaign. How would Devin provide his political platform? How would he speak to the media? E-mail made things easier, and he was able to write speeches that would be read by an Elections Committee member or me. Devin had to forgo any chances for questioning at residence community meetings, because no one could really answer questions on his behalf. This gave the opposition a huge advantage, since the opponent had a chance to flesh out his ideas more fully with a thought-provoking Q&A session.

Campaigns at Binghamton have three phases that are almost distinct in their goals. First are the speeches and discussions at the on-campus residence communities, where the more politically active students vote to endorse candidates. Generally, only students serving on hall councils attend these meetings, and because of the length, some opt to skip out entirely. While the turnout is unimpressive, almost everyone who goes to these meetings can be counted on to vote and perhaps influence their less-informed friends. At these meetings, a neutral Election Committee representative read Devin’s campaign speech, although no one could answer questions on his behalf. In the speech, Devin rallied for a communications major, student representation on the faculty senate, a later deadline for dropping courses, and other issues that mattered to his peers and campus. Although Devin fared poorly overall in communities that opted to support his competitor (they wanted a candidate they could see), his home community of Hinman College unanimously endorsed him.

The second arena is the media, most notably the campus newspaper, television, and radio stations. The newspaper chose to endorse the on-campus candidate. The radio station allowed speeches from both hopefuls but gave the opposition an extensive time for questioning. When it was time to go in front of the cameras, I was given questions in advance, and I read the answers in Devin’s place.

The third and final stage took place on the two days of the election. During this time, the candidates attack the campus with an army of people passing out small flyers called "quarter-sheets" that include catchy slogans and brief platform descriptions. Campaigners must stay a mandated distance away from the polling places as they pass these sheets to everyone who walks by. On some heavily populated stretches of pavement, innocent pedestrians must brave the marathon mile where representatives of nearly every candidate running for the six elected executive- board offices pass out promotional materials. No one can say just how much influence quarter-sheeting has on the voter. There are never exit polls asking if students had their minds made up long before the election, or whether a quarter-sheet was enough to lock in a vote. Regardless, they’re part of a tradition, so I designed the "Devin doll." This was a paper cutout figure digitally enhanced with Devin’s face, along with our slogan and some relevant platform information. While Devin’s picture looked a bit creepy, because I had to doctor it using photo-editing software, the dolls were so well-received that many people wanted them as souvenirs.

Devin got 43 percent of the vote to his opponent’s 55 percent. We wanted to prove that someone studying abroad could still run for office, even 5,700 miles away. With 43 percent of the total vote, we made a strong demonstration for students not to dismiss a man as abroad. Perhaps now, someone won’t feel pressured into choosing between achieving campus goals and going overseas.

Dave Berkowitz graduated from SUNY Binghamton in May of 2000 with a bachelor of arts in Psychology. He was active in Student Government, campus media, and the theater. Berkowitz currently works as a technical writer and PR guru for a dot-com start-up company in Manhattan, N.Y. You can contact him via e-mail at daveny1024@yahoo.com.

Copyright © 2005 Oxendine Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved