For example, one of their campaign posters boasts, “We brought you to Logan, now we’ll bring your kegs to Blanchard’s,” indicating their intention to run a keg-return service on Sundays.

“This is a small issue, but it’ll save students a lot of time and energy,” Mahan says.

During their campaign, Blickstead and Mahan say they have shown similar attention to detail—often to the detriment of their sleep schedule.

“After we decided that we wanted yellow to be our campaign color,” says Mahan, “we spent two hours trying to find the perfect shade. We called all the Kinko’s in the greater Boston area, and finally found the best yellow at 4 last Saturday morning.”

Old Dogs, New Tricks

Throughout the week-and-a-half-long campaign, Mahan and Blickstead have touted their three-year tenures on the council as assets.

The two are the perfect ticket, they say, because they bring to the table knowledge of advocacy issues and social events.

They point to Mahan’s two-year run as chair of the Student Affairs Committee (SAC) and Blickstead’s three-semester term chairing the Campus Life Committee and his current position as the Council’s treasurer as evidence.

Mahan points to extending freshman keycard to Houses, his prodding the Committee on Safety to meet for the first time in years and collaborating with Chopra to kill pre-registration as his most important achievements.

Most recently, he indicates pushing the 2 a.m. party hours bill to House Masters for a vote as yet another victory in his run as SAC chair.

Some opponents, however, suggest that Mahan and Blickstead are taking credit for Chopra’s initiatives, and that their individual records are meager.

“I think they don’t have as many accomplishments for the time they put in,” Barro says.

Building Support

Mahan and Blickstead have focused their campaign on winning support from first-years—who often vote in the largest numbers—deans and student group leaders.

In drawing up their 10-page platform, Mahan and Blickstead invited representatives from student groups on campus to give input.