Although it happens every year to the campaign signs around campus, it appears that this year it started happening earlier than usual. There’s no reason for this to happen, ever.

The campaign signs placed around campus aren’t for graffiti, skateboard ramps or free for the taking.  Each candidate has a limited budget to work with and signs taken or broken are often irreplaceable.

Each year, the student body president campaign is something I personally look forward to and I know there are others who feel the same. The student body president does a lot of things for students and it’s important every student picks the best candidate to support. Rather than spending time vandalizing signs or taking signs of candidates you don’t support, try instead to help out the candidate you do support.  All three candidates would be happy to have someone else helping with their campaign.

The vandalism of campaign signs started the first night they were up for candidate Andy Walsh, a junior in political science. 

Walsh said his large “BellTower-type” signs were sprayed with graffiti the first night.  The signs Walsh has around campus are signs he made with his team.  He said it’s disappointing someone would vandalize his signs, but it isn’t something he can dwell on.

Now, all three candidates have had to deal with something happening to their signs, be it vandalism or theft, as if running for student body president wasn’t hectic enough.

Jonathon Smith, a junior in agriculture education, had one of his signs broken Thursday night. According to people Smith has spoken with, his sign on Wolf Plaza was broken because skateboarders used it as a ramp. There’s no reason for the signs on Wolf Plaza to become ramps.

Although Caroline Yopp , a junior in agricultural science, has not had to deal with vandalism, she said she’s noticed a lot of her signs either moved or taken altogether. Yopp said she would rather have her signs broken because she can fix a broken sign, but can’t replace a stolen sign.

The three candidates agreed the important aspect of this campaign isn’t the signs, it’s about students picking who they believe will lead the student body best. 

“Regardless of who you support, I really strongly urge the student body to refrain from such behavior. Instead, show your positive support for a candidate. Hold others accountable. If you see someone messing with a sign, confront them and ask them to stop,” Yopp said.

“I hope students don’t feel like they have to destruct signs. We all want to do the best thing for the student body. I’d rather have students thinking about who the best candidate is,” Walsh said. “I hope students will keep it clean the next few weeks.”

“Candidates have all invested heavily in purchasing and/or buying campaign signs,” Smith said.  “They are private property and even though they are posted for the public to view, they should be respected and seen as someone else’s property.  Whenever a sign is destroyed, it really disrespects the whole student body selection process. We want to do a good job of selecting our next student body leaders but if vandalism occurs, it can actually hinder the process.”

So, let’s try to do it. Keep it clean. Don’t take campaign signs. Don’t deface them. Don’t break them.  Think about how it looks to people visiting campus to walk around seeing broken or spray-painted campaign signs. It goes back to respecting yourself and your school.