| Apr. 10, 2008 | 1:55 pm |
ASG candidates Facebook group comparison bonanza
By
ASG elections are coming: Do you know who you are going to vote for? NBN introduced you to the presidential candidates, but, if you are like me and are turned off by “platforms” and “facts” and “Associated Student Government,” you need to find different criteria to judge these people on. I say, what better judging material than who has the best campaign Facebook group?
Lets start off with Mark Crain, a Weinberg junior. Nothing extravagant over at his Facebook group, just an outline of his platform and a flyer featuring the word “you” a lot and his picture. Scroll down a bit, and you can see more of his flyer output, most of which are pretty straightforward, presenting his plans for NU, save for the pun-tastic “Leave Your Mark on Northwestern.” The most technological part of his page is this YouTube video of Crain talking to “you” about the concept of “you.”
He’s got 184 members in his group, not shabby.
Next up, Weinberg junior Blake Yocom and his group. He lost me from the first sentence (”You probably have met Blake Yocom at some point in your Northwestern career”) as I haven’t met Blake Yocom at any point in my NU career, though I don’t know how I could miss him since “he’s that guy towering down Sheridan at 6′3″ on his way to Evanston on a always fun night out.” The rest is harmless enough, just further reasons why he’s qualified and a link to his other website outlining his plans further. Pretty straightforward, nothing too daring here, though he needs to be docked major points for using the same picture and nearly-same text as his previous group, “Blake Yocom for Homecoming King.” I seem to be the only one worried though, as he has 322 members in tow.
Weinberg sophomore Luke Adams is the mystery candidate, mainly because I can’t find a Facebook group in support of his campaign. Uhhhhh, if I’m missing something, please let the world know, because all my searches reap no sweet, delicious ASG fruit. Maybe he’s the new Dickie Humps.
Weinberg senior (though his Facebook profile says ‘09?) Scott Burton is real! His group is the most simplistic yet, featuring only some text, a couple photos and 58 members. Very straightforward stuff. I would like to mention that the group page says he served in Iraq as a marine…that’s super impressive, my hat’s off to him.
Finally, we come to SESP junior Neal Sales-Griffin, boasting the most loaded Facebook group of all. The team behind his group has the best grip on Photoshop of the lot (look, his face is in front of the NU logo. And a shadow!), and also a forgettable catchphrase (”NSG for ASG) but then again none of them are very memorable. What makes this group stand out is a collection of five videos, each one showcasing a student explaining why they will be voting for Sales-Griffin in this election. Definitely the coolest multi-media offered up by any candidate, and putting the focus on students is pretty neat, so big ups for having the coolest Facebook group. But “NSG for ASG?” Bleh. He’s got 214 members.
So there ya go, Netplay’s completely thorough analysis of ASG candidate’s Facebook groups. Go out and vote next week, since this is your campus and all, and try to actually read up on the platforms put out by the candidates as that is a lot more important than who has the best photo selection. I’ll cheer you on as you make democracy, as I’ll probably be too busy taking a Statistics quiz to remember to eat, let alone vote.
Update: When this post was first published, the author misspelled “Yocom.” NBN is very sorry about this and has corrected the error.
Ben said,
April 10, 2008 @ 4:11 pm
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11190569887
Patrick St. Michel said,
April 10, 2008 @ 8:21 pm
Thank you! Don’t know how I misssed that one
PD said,
April 11, 2008 @ 5:48 am
Is it just me, or does Mark seem to use Neal’s slogans a lot in his video?
Love the article! Good to see an equally-discriminatory pundit in the mix. =)
BTR said,
April 11, 2008 @ 9:49 am
Mr. St. Michel, did you do any research into this article? Who edits the garbage that is NBN, “Yokom” is not the correct spelling. Read the Daily, look at the school directory or look at facebook.
JBS said,
April 11, 2008 @ 10:21 am
That’s the first time I ever heard someone docked for winning homecoming king lol
Blake is an a**hole said,
April 11, 2008 @ 12:25 pm
If I do remember correctly, Blake and some of his friends showed up to my friend’s birthday party (who they did not know) and tried to steal a handle of vodka. When confronted during their escape, Blake decided it was a good idea to throw his vodka drink into my friend’s eyes (who was a woman).
Ya, that is who I want running ASG.
You're A Drunk said,
April 11, 2008 @ 4:59 pm
If I do remember correctly, as I attended this same party that this supposed “vodka incident” occurred, your female friend physically assaulted Mr. Yocom because he had the nerve to pour himself a drink at a party he was invited to. Most people lose control of a cup in their hand immediately following a direct slap to the face. I’m sure every one of the candidates here has had an experience in the past that can be dragged out to attack their character, because guess what? We’re in college, stupid things happen. This kind of rumor-mongering is in no way beneficial to this campaign. Stick to the issues and grow up.
Yocom on the Issues said,
April 11, 2008 @ 6:43 pm
From his own website:
“I don’t have space here to describe my platform satisfactorily, but know this: I will not deliver the amount of non-binding resolutions that my opponents will.”
Translation: I don’t understand how ASG functions so I do not know how to solve this issue.
“The office would also be able to review leases and take action against landlords who are not accommodating their tenants’ needs according to their lease agreement. Thus, landlords would not be able to use students’ ignorance about renting against them.”
We had a ASG lawyer that students were free to use for basically this purpose. Current ASG President, along with his executive board, cut this service because it was being severely underused.
“Third, on a lighter note, the dorms need to step up to 2-ply toilet paper. This simple upgrade would be used on a very personal level quite frequently all over campus. As most students are coming away from nice homes to live in dormitory facilities, providing decent quality bathroom products would be a small gesture to make Northwestern students feel more at home.”
Yes, it is a lighter note. He does qualify this issue. But c’mon. I am sure there are a couple more salient issues to be addressed.
p0wn3d
Lame? said,
April 14, 2008 @ 1:33 am
Patrick St. Michael, I met Blake the first day of new student week this year… so you must never leave your room.
alternately... said,
April 14, 2008 @ 2:15 am
or… he wasn’t at the exact same place as you on the first day of new student week?
ItsRaininMcCain said,
April 14, 2008 @ 4:12 pm
There’s a banner ad for John McCain on this page, so I think I’ll just vote for him instead. I mean, his Facebook group has like 15,000+ members. Plus, he’s usually he’s often seen walking down the sidewalk on the way to a shuffleboard tournament on a always fun night out [sic].