By Peter McKellar
Though the actual campaign is limited to a total of nine days, candidates running for BYUSA presidential and vice presidential positions begin their work months in advance.
'It''s physically draining and emotionally exhausting,' said Sarah Sandburg, current BYUSA Vice President. 'It takes hours and hours of planning.'
Prospective candidates must first attend an 'intent to run' meeting in December or January and fill out a seven page application form verifying that they meet the basic requirements.
To be eligible, candidates must be in good standing with the university and have a current minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA.
In addition, candidates must be taking at least 12 credit hours at the time of application and throughout the elections.
Winning parties must continue to take at least 12 credit hours throughout the fall and winter semesters while in office.
The final requirement, two semesters of BYUSA experience, was changed for this year''s campaign.
Instead, candidates are now required to have either two semesters of BYUSA experience, or one semester of BYUSA service and one semester of leadership elsewhere at BYU.
The BYUSA experience must be at the program director level or higher, said Michael McCleve, director of Student Leadership.
Program directors are in charge of events, rather than just volunteering to help with events, McCleve said.
'We may have as many as 150 to 200 program directors in a single school year,' he said.
The change has nearly doubled the number of candidates running this year, McCleve said.
After meeting the initial eligibility requirements, candidates spend six hours in training with BYUSA officials.
'The intent behind it is to get a more in depth understanding of the vision and mission of the Student Service Association,' McCleve said.
Campaign managers are invited to participate in part of the meeting where they receive training on how to run effective campaigns.
Candidates are then required to turn in a platform, or list of issues they plan to focus on.
Candidates present the platform to full-time coordinators and a campaign rules committee.
'The coordinators intent is to point them to the advisors, whoever they need to talk to on campus to make sure their platform is feasible,' McCleve said.
In response to concerns last year that major platform planks were not feasible, students must return their platform to the Department of Student Leadership with initials from key faculty and administration members indicating that their platform ideas are possible.
'We tried to solve the problem by steering students to the administration,' McCleve said.
During key points in the process, a rules committee comprised of students and administrators ensure candidates are eligible and following the established guidelines.