Many students have been bombarded with handbill after handbill for Student Association candidates the last few days.

Supporters of the SA candidates, and the candidates themselves, have been around campus passing out the little bright slips of paper informing students of the candidates and encouraging them to vote.

Dave Sweeny, a senior English education major, is handing out flyers pushing for Keith Kruchten.

“I’ve agreed to be one of the most hated people on campus,” Sweeny said.

He said he gets several different responses from students when trying to distribute the handbills.

“A lot of them have the thousand-yard stare,” Sweeny said.

It is helpful to make eye contact and make conversation, such as saying good morning, he said. He said many students are on their way to class and not responsive. Many say they have already gotten one, or they have already voted.

“I was out at 8:30 a.m. yesterday and I had a student tell me [he or she] had already voted, a half hour before the polls even opened,” Sweeny said.

He’s been working with Kruchten since the start of his campaign and volunteered to distribute the handbills to help support Kruchten. Sweeny said himself and others supporting Kruchten were out from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Tuesday and until the polls closed at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Sweeny said he feels the handbills make the students feel more involved. He said he thinks most students do not see what a candidate looks like until the day of the election.

Phil Stroud, SA treasurer candidate and a senior history and political science major, said he has had many positive experiences with students.

“I’ve had a number of students I’ve talked to, and they seem genuinely interested in these issues,” Stroud said.

Most students though, have not been as interested in the elections.

“Most students ignore it, and throw them away. It’s very disheartening,” Stroud said.

Stroud said the last figures he saw early Wednesday afternoon showed fewer than 1,000 students had voted. He said he believes it is important to vote because $1.3 million is allocated to student organizations, and each student pays a significant portion of that money. He said he thinks students should have more say regarding their money.

Stroud said they distributed about 1,000 handbills.

Raquel Taylor, a senior media studies major, said she thinks students are more receptive this year than last year.

“I’ve been able to explain a lot more and had better responses,” Taylor said. “I’ve talked to a lot of freshmen. A lot of them stop and ask what it’s for. They need to hear from people actually involved. They need to know what is actually going on. That’s crucial.”