With the Government of the Student Body election less than a week away, executive campaign advertisements have taken over campus.

The financing of advertising and promotions faces both GSB executive campaigns as they fund materials to build name recognition among students. Caleb Shinn, GSB election commissioner, said executive campaigns have a spending limit of $1,000 for campaign promotions and advertisements.

Shinn said the candidates use various means to increase visibility among students, including signs, fliers, buttons and stickers.

“Their main goal is really to get people to turn out to vote,” he said. “Getting more people to vote is going to help them get elected.”

He said candidates must receive permission from campus building advisers to post materials in front of dorms and apartments on campus.

GSB will not know the final amount spent by each candidate until after the election, when each slate submits its final campaign finance report to the GSB treasurer, Shinn said.

Angela Groh, GSB presidential candidate, said her campaign’s strategy is to talk with as many students as possible, using materials to build campaign recognition.

“Our materials are fun and recognizable,” Groh said. “People can identify us from them.”

Groh said because of the $1,000 spending limit, her campaign needed to be thrifty when creating promotional materials. For instance, blue holographic paper used for promotional cards was damaged in a fire and was free, and campaign banners were made from free scrap vinyl.

“We wanted to use our money as efficiently as possible,” she said.

The smaller materials that are not seen on final products — including paintbrushes, screws and hinges — add to the promotional costs and must also be included on the final finance report, she said.

Chris Deal, Groh’s running mate, said advertising is important because candidates cannot reach every student.

“The advertising helps students to put a name with a face so they know who is running,” Deal said.

Henry Alliger, GSB presidential candidate, said the primary advertising strategy for his campaign includes simple logos, Web site promotion and sign placement in high-traffic areas. He said advertising, however, is not the primary element to promoting his campaign.

“[Advertising] is an important part of the campaign, but it is more important to me to get out and meet people,” Alliger said.

According to the 2005 GSB Election Code, candidates who exceed the $1,000 spending limit face a minimum $50 fine plus 200 percent of the expenditures over the spending limit.

Both campaigns said they are rapidly approaching the $1,000 spending limit. Both Groh and Alliger said their campaign has been personally financed without external donors and they will disclose their expenditures after the election.

“It’s not our intention to spend over the limit,” Alliger said.

Candidates also face fines for distributing unapproved campaign material, damaging or removing competitors’ campaign material and falsifying costs on the final campaign finance report, along with other violations.

Following the 2004 GSB election, Sophia Magill and Will Rock’s campaign was fined $250 for posting a campaign flier in an unapproved location and sending a campaign e-mail before the official campaign kickoff date, according to Daily staff reports. Drew Miller and Jenn Riggs’ campaign was fined $150 for wrongful use of GSB facilities for campaign purposes and campaigning before the official kickoff date.

None of the 2004 GSB executive campaigns exceeded the $1,000 spending limit.