Students in the room yelled, "class, class," and "time" as Kaplan spoke, according to those attending the lecture.

Kaplan calls his chemistry talk a "humbling experience" but refuses to discuss it further. He notes only that a similar presentation he gave in Biological Sciences 1: "Introductory Genetics: Molecular and Developmental Biology" went much better.

"He was very good," says James J. Zenyoh '99, who was present at Kaplan's BS 1 talk.

Another student complains about an unidentified candidate, who reportedly rode through the Quad in a shopping cart, shouting out political slogans through a megaphone.

Joseph G. Cleemann '98, a presidential hopeful, says the campaign is not about issues and that it is next to impossible to make it so.

And Smith says he is moving to an issue-based campaign, releasing a "manifesto" today on a Web page and a shortened version on posters.

"If I do not win the election, the election, was not about issues, because I have the best issues," says Smith, who has been criticized for running a campaign based on pictures of his face.

Name Recognition

The candidates' assessment of a non-issue campaign seems to be on target.

Most students interviewed yesterday in Loker Commons said they were not following the campaign closely enough to understand the issues.

And indeed, there are only a handful of students who say they have been positively swayed by campaign efforts.

Nikhil Chandra '99 says the joint campaign of presidential candidate Robert M. Hyman '98-'97 and vice presidential candidate Lamelle D. Rawlins '99 has impressed him because of its concern for minority issues.

Most other students interviewed say they aren't paying much attention to the race.

"I am not really following the campaign. It seems that some [candidates] are postering more than others," says K.T. Lawson '97.

The Dunster resident says she has not decided yet for whom she will cast her vote in the campus-wide elections, but adds that she does not plan to make "an active attempt" to find out more information about the candidates.