The stage was set, the microphones were on and the candidates were ready.

On Friday, the only thing missing from the Student Government candidate debate at Harris Field was the students.

“It seems like there was a lot of apathy,” Chris Mangieri, president of Interfraternity Council, said.

IFC sponsored the debate as part of the organization’s “Pack the Vote” campaign, designed to get students more involved in campus issues and elections.

But on a breezy, overcast evening that saw temperatures dip into the 40s, it seemed that the candidates were the only ones willing to brave the elements for one last chance to discuss their platforms.

“It’s kind of disappointing that people didn’t show up,” Ayo Adeyene, a junior in English and candidate for senior class president, said.

Adeyene said he was looking forward to the debate as an opportunity to discuss issues and show which candidates are qualified for their positions. He planned to talk about his ideas to improve senior traditions such as the Ram Roast, Senior Week and the Ring Ceremony.

“I really would have liked students to have the opportunity to hear that,” Adeyene said.

Adeyene believes that one of the factors contributing to the low turnout was the lack of publicity on the part of IFC. He said that he did not see flyers or signs about the event around campus and doubted that many students knew about it.

Student Body president candidate Will Quick, on the other hand, said he was not expecting a high turnout for the event regardless of publicity.

“A lot of people have pretty much made up their minds,” Quick said. Quick said the campaign period is moving into the “home stretch” despite obvious difficulties with getting students to come to the debate.

“Candidates are kind of trying to catch any stragglers,” he said.

However, Quick also acknowledged that student interest in Student Government has declined significantly during the past year due to the tense relationship between Student Body President Whil Piavis, the Student Senate and the University administration.

“I’d say we’ve definitely gone downhill,” he said.

This lack of student participation in Student Government was the exact problem that the debate sought to remedy, Mangieri said.

“We’re trying to get students more active and involved,” he said.

To do this, IFC launched the “Pack the Vote” campaign to promote student awareness by creating more opportunities for students to interact with the candidates and learn about the platforms and issues in the elections.

“On the Student Government Web site, they don’t even have the names of the candidates who are running,” Mangieri said, suggesting that Student Government efforts to inform students have been inadequate.

Although disappointed with this year’s low turnout, IFC hopes to make the “Pack the Vote” effort an annual awareness campaign, Mangieri said.

“We’re trying to make State a better student experience,” he said.