City to let ASUSU election signs linger off-campus
Campaign amendments desired by the Associated Students of Utah State University were made Tuesday night after two months of discussions with Logan City officials.
Traditionally, students have been allowed to hang campaign signs on-campus in designated areas for all five days of election week, but were only allowed three days to hang their signs off-campus.
For ASUSU Vice President of Public Relations Ashley Stolworthy, this was a problem.
“Eighty percent of Utah State University students live off-campus,” Stolworthy said.
Stolworthy said it’s important all students were reached, and this amendment will help that goal.
The Logan City Planning and Zoning Commission was the force behind not wanting signs to be displayed more than three days, because it was afraid the campaigning could cause more litter. But according to Logan City Council member Steven Taylor, there have never been any complaints related to campaign signs.
Another change implemented by the amendments is the square footage allowed for the campaign signs. Traditionally, students were only allowed 12 square feet for off-campus signs. Now, the amendment allows for 32 square feet.
According to Stolworthy, there haven’t been very many problems with campaign signs in the past, but with the amendments made, now students “won’t be breaking the law anymore.”
Logan City recently hired a city ordinance enforcer, so according to Stolworthy, it’s important that students adhere to the campaign sign ordinance.
Stolworthy said students are allowed to campaign off-campus in student housing areas only, and that campaigners must obtain permission from the property
managers or landlords first.
The filing deadline to run for an ASUSU office is February 19. According to Stolworthy, so far only 23 students have filed for candidacy, and the goal is to have 65 students running for office.
“The more people run, the better [the] voter turn-out,” she said.
Stolworthy said 21 positions are available, and students interested in running for an office can pick up a campaign packet in TSC 326.
Campaign week is March 15 to 19, and students will be allowed to hang their campaign signs at 7 a.m. on March 15.
-scottsj@cc.usu.edu