Kristin Marthaler

Two sets of candidates are now in the running for president and vice president of the Students’ Association.

Brad Blaha (president) and Katie Jo McGuire (vice president), and Alex Halbach (president) and Kat Brandtjen (vice president) are in the running. The application deadline has already passed.

Besides the posters hung all over campus, the candidates have also put money forth to create their own Web sites.

Both sets of candidates have Web sites for their campaigns.

“We have funded our whole campaign between the two of us so far,” said Halbach.

“On voting night, we had 800 hits on our Web site, amazing numbers,” said Ryan Brunner, current SA president, looking back on when he ran his campaign.

“For all the money you spend on t-shirts and things like that, paying for the Web site is worth the money,” he said.

Most students might assume since they are running for a student goverment position at SDSU that SDSU would pay for a majority of their campaign cost; however, everything comes out of the candidates’ own pockets. The Web site only cost the candidates about $9.

On election day, students will see the candidates throughout campus, urging students to vote for them. In previous elections, candidates passed out suckers or handed out cups. The candidates usually sell t-shirts with their names or logos for students. This, in turn, refunds part of the candidates’ campaign money.

Voting begins March 1 and lasts until March 2. A link on the SDSU Web site will connect to the voting site.

Students are strongly encouraged to vote this year. In previous years, student participation has declined.

Both sets of candidates have, drawn from their own experiences, goals they wish to reach during their terms.

Brandtjen and Halbach will strive to create a student housing association, make SDSU a leader in campus technology and improve student-faculty advising.

Blaha and McGuire will strive to reform residence hall policies, create a peer-mentorship program and make Hobo Day more memorable for all students.

Both sets of candidates have been very active on campus and have been involved with the SA Senate for the last year.

Candidates said that if they don’t win, they will apply to be student senators at large.

“It’s in your blood, you can’t get away from it,” said Blaha.

Both parties stress getting the word out to students that they aren’t able to come into contact with on campus. For some of those students, the only time they will hear about the presidental campaign is right before they are told to vote. With the candidates’ personal Web sites, voters will be able to read and learn about the different candidates.

The Web sites list different facts about each set of candidates and what goals each team strives for.

A debate between the candidates will be take place Friday, Feb. 24 at 1 p.m. in The Market in The Union. Everyone is invited to attend.

How to vote: ? Log on to SDSU’s Web site at www.sdstate.edu and click on student organization link.? Go to www.votejacks.com and follow the link from the Web site. (Alex and Kat campaign)? Go to www.votejackrabbits.com and follow the link from the Web site. (Blaha and McGuire campaign)