Although the Undergraduate Council has been accused of inefficiency and an inability to inspire widespread student support since the October general elections, in recent weeks hundreds of undergraduates have put aside problem sets and missed group meetings to poster and strategize for presidential and vice-presidential candidates. The motives of campaign strategists and early-rising poster teams vary, but most cite a faith in platforms and in the Council's potential for campus change.

Of those interviewed, Noah Z. Seton '00 and vice presidential running mate Kamil A. Redmond '00 have about 75 students on their campaign team e-mail list, with a core group of around 20 daily staff while presidential candidate Chris King '00 said he has a staff of about 50. John A. Burton '01, also a candidate for president, has about 150 people helping with his campaign, of which he said nearly 50 are committed to regular postering. Nicholas J. Stone '00 and Trevor S. Blake '00 said their campaign is powered by a smaller group of students.

"It's not so much a team as a group of friends," Stone said.

Busy schedules filled with coursework, extracurricular activities and socializing, lead many students to pass up the opportunity to help someone else's cause. Nevertheless, candidates have been able to drum up the support of anywhere from half a dozen to more than a hundred friends, blockmates, fellow Council members and student group leaders.

Redmond and Seton said campaign team members are helping with postering as well as speeches, platforms, and panel appearances. In addition to postering with the campaign team, Stone said he and Blake also solicited opinions from students to develop a platform.

"What a campaign team is important for is varied perspective," Stone said. "We have a wide spectrum of views on our team."

"A large part of what we did is contacting students all over this campus to find out what students want," said Stephanie B. Greenman '00, a member of Stone's campaign committee.

Some members of Burton's campaign team are dedicating much of their day to the campaign.

"Ten of us haven't been to class much this week," Burton said.

Members of Burton's campaign team are working from three hours up to the entire day putting up posters, attending debates between the candidates and sending out e-mails. Each of the candidates interviewed said teams have an added impact beyond administrative support.

"Noah and I can only get so many votes, and it's the people we have working on our team, talking us up, that are getting us the votes. You need to have people who believe in your ideas, who believe in what you're saying and can express that to others," Redmond said.

But the impact of team members can be limited.

"They can certainly make or break an election, but if the candidate does not pull their weight, they will not win," Burton said.

Candidates said helping with a campaign is not just a way to be politically active, but also a social experience. Some have held meetings, pizza study breaks, even a cocktail party with the Opportunes. Stone and Blake hosted a brunch for their campaign team, while Seton and Redmond planned pizza meetings.

But beyond the free pizza or breakfast fare, students are compelled to join the teams for a variety of reasons, both personal and political.