Tickets kick race into full election gear

The IU Student Association elections are less than 24 hours away, and it's time to pull out all the stops.\nTickets Crimson, Fusion, Hoosier Party and Big Red will unleash hordes of supporters and volunteers on campus to win students' votes.\nPresidential Candidate Tyson Chastain said roughly 80 of Crimson's supporters will swarm campus en masse to pitch Crimson's policies to as many students as possible. Crimson has festivities planned for the next three days as well, but Chastain said students will have to wait to find out.\n"Let's just say we will surprise the students," he said. "The Crimson name will be out there."\nThe campaign trail began three months ago, but the next three days should get interesting, Chastain said.\n"It's a great time getting out there and meeting all the students and hearing what they have to say," he said. "It's our job to represent the students, so if (you) see us out tomorrow (Monday), make sure to stop and talk to us."\nCrimson Congressional Secretary Candidate Scott Norman voiced his enthusiasm.\n"I'm excited," he said. "We've all put so much time into this, we're ready to do it."\nFusion will continue to serve hot chocolate to shivering students in line for buses, Presidential candidate Dan Shapiro said.\n"Everything we're doing is a way of representing the changes we want to make," he said, referring to Fusion's promise to revamp the transit system.\nShapiro said while the next several days will take a toll on his sleeping habits and cell phone bill, he feels IUSA needs to make campaigning a habit.\n"Honestly, I think IUSA should be doing this type of campaigning all year long rather than simply going out when we need something," he said. "Our plan is really to do that."\nIf students haven't heard much from Hoosier Party so far, it's intentional, Presidential Candidate Aaron Radez said.\n"We've strategically waited because we didn't want to harass students for three weeks," he said. "We build a little momentum, we stay quiet and then (we) spring a 58-hour, all-out assault."\nIn the next three days, Hoosier Party campaigners will decorate the campus with more than 300 posters and more than 10,000 fliers. Radez declined to comment on the distribution mechanisms. \nStudents will also see the party's banner inside all 30 campus buses as well as on several Web sites, Radez said. The party's own site was temporarily unavailable on campus while the IU network experienced technical difficulties but is up and running again.\n"I really enjoy the last-minute push of the campaign," he said.\nRoughly 80 Big Red volunteers and ticket members will vie for student votes, said Campaign Manager Danielle Harris.\n"We can't say exactly what they're gonna do, but Big Red's going to be everywhere," she said.\nHarris stressed the importance of the tail of end of the campaign.\n"When people see you this time, it sticks in their mind," she said. "This is a time when (students) can come up to you and ask you their questions. It's the most personal contact you're going get out of the whole campaign."\nSome tickets have already incurred warnings from the IU Police Department and Student Activities in response to overly- vehement campaigning. In a letter to all candidates, Elections Coordinator Derek Molter explained that bullhorns, the arboretum and throwing items from moving vehicles were all off-limits.\nStill, IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger compared most violations to common weekend noise violations.\n"It's like many things that happen on a college campus," he said. "People do things for the first time without realizing the consequences of their actions."\nThough campaigners could be subject to charges for disturbing the peace or disorderly conduct, Minger said he doesn't expect any more problems.\n"Hopefully, we're not going to get arrested," said Chastain. "But you never know."\n-- Contact staff writer Mike McElroy at mmcelroy@indiana.edu.