As the rain poured on an empty campus Monday morning, UC Berkeley senior Anais LaVoie was setting up on Sproul Plaza at 5:30 a.m. to prepare for the first day of ASUC election campaigning.
Her goal: to convince as many students as possible to pledge to vote for CalSERVE.
LaVoie, a CalSERVE elections coordinator, is one of the numerous campaign members this year working countless hours behind the scenes to garner votes for ASUC candidates.
Campaign managers and committee members are faced with numerous arduous tasks leading up to elections, ranging from passing out fliers and managing staff to preparing breakfast for candidates.
As party chairs for Student Action, UC Berkeley seniors Sukhpreet Sembhi and Joey Lam help manage the party’s candidates’ campaigns. Sembhi and Lam describe their positions as full-time jobs with no vacation time.
During the days leading up to the election, both are awake at 6 a.m. to prepare for the day’s campaigning, and they remain on Sproul until 5 p.m.
“It is great to be around highly motivated individuals that are dedicated to speaking for students’ voice and issues,” Sembhi said.
Similarly, LaVoie said she works an average of 20 hours a week for CalSERVE, working longer hours in the weeks leading up to the election. A typical campaign day for LaVoie begins at 5:30 a.m. on Sproul Plaza, where she sets up the tent and headquarters for CalSERVE. At 6:45 a.m., candidates begin to arrive, and she and other members give pep talks and motivation.
She describes herself as a “wellness coach.”
LaVoie continues working until 11 p.m., when she and other campaign members come together for two hours to complete school work before starting the process again the next day.
“What keeps me going is the feeling that I get in tabulations after the results come in,” LaVoie said.
In the days leading up to the election, Katharine Caputo, a UC Berkeley junior and campaign manager for SQUELCH! presidential candidate Jason Bellet, said she will be working 40 hours a week for the campaign.
Although committed to the campaign, Caputo says she would be unwilling to put in the effort for anyone other than Bellet.
“I’m really doing this for Jason,” Caputo said. “He would be an amazing leader that is dedicated to the community.”
While campaign managers are committed to their candidate’s slate, the workload may prove to be overwhelming for others.
UC Berkeley senior Ethan Mark served as a campaign manager for former Student Action senator Michael Bloch three years ago. Initially eager to be part of the campaign, he soon realized the extensive workload that came with the job.
“At first, it was just a couple hours a week, and it was a pretty fun job just introducing friends,” Mark said. “However, it became exponentially difficult. I had to wake up at 7 a.m. to flier and was asked to pull an all-nighter. It was a lot of work and much more difficult than I expected.”
To UC Berkeley junior Devonte Jackson, however, the campaign efforts prove rewarding.
Jackson serves as the campaign manager for CalSERVE’s academic affairs vice president candidate, Valerie Jameson. His tasks range from managing a team of 20 to helping prepare breakfast at 6 a.m. for the executive candidates.
“This is a great experience in communication and organization, and it gives you the tools and connections to be a part of something bigger,” Jackson said.
Andrea Guzman covers academics and administration. Contact her at [email protected] and on Twitter @guzmanandrea5.