Some candidates, however, are eschewing large campaign staffs, relying on their hard work alone.

Fresh from postering in the Quad, Kaplan said he wants to get his ideas before the people.

"[My] only strategy is...pointing out ideas that other people don't have," Kaplan said. "[I hope to] turn the election from a popularity contest to an issue-based one."

Digging Up Dirt

This is the 1990s. Candidates go negative. They uncover each other's weaknesses. And they exploit them.

Gardiner assists Rawlins by turning in Rawlins's opponents who violate guidelines established by the Election Commission.

Earlier this week, Gardiner alerted the commission of illegal signs placed in dining halls by Benjamin R. Kaplan '99-'98.

It was Gardiner who alerted the commission to Kaplan's illegal tents. He was admonished and slapped with a five-percent fine, which reduced his effective campaign treasury to $95.

It's been a busy election for the Election Commission. They received reports of eight postering violations on the first major day of campaigning alone.

Discipline included warnings, rule alterations and postering restrictions.

Rawlins said Gardiner also suggested disseminating voters guides, outlining candidates' stances on issues including PBHA funding, banning ROTC from campus and hiking council grants to student groups.

Rawlins nixed the idea, saying she thought it might precipitate a mudslinging contest. "I want to stay aboveboard."

Mawi Asgedom '99 agrees. The vice-presidential candidate said he's mostly campaigning with his friends.

"We don't really have any formal titles [to our campaign staff], he said. "We have [only] a group of friends that we get to help."

And then there's William P. Pyonteck '00, who has yet to do any campaigning. Pyonteck scoffs at the idea of campaign machinery or strategy.

He said he's counting on a quiet but sure comeback to carry him over the top.

"Kind of like Harry Truman," he said