A Different Kind of Numbers Campaign - St. Lawrence University, NY

St. Lawrence University's chapter of Democracy Matters recently organized a different kind of numbers campaign. We decided to focus on the number one billion, the estimated campaign cost for the 2008 presidential election. Instead of just posting flyers around the campus, our group brainstormed a new way to communicate this information to the student body.

Last year, a display in our student center attempted to raise awareness for rape and sexual harassment by stringing lines ofcolored T-shirts across the atrium, right where students walk everyday to eat, check their mail, attend events, or socialize with friends. With this idea in mind, our group came up with the idea of hanging strands of Democracy Matters bills across the student center atrium.

During one club meeting, we taped one thousand bills to strings, with the idea that each bill equaled one million dollars. This meant that the bills in our display represented one billion dollars. Our club spent some extra time that night hanging up the bills in long, drooping lines across the student center. The finished product was striking, obvious to anyone who walked through the student center. This display was accentuated with posters saying ONE BILLION, an explanatory sign in the student center, and emails
explaining the display.

Our goal was to educate people about the extravagant campaigning that is in our near future for the 2008 presidential election and the purpose of Democracy Matters. It seemed to spark an interest in some people, as many club members had discussions about the display with friends. One new person came to our meeting because of her interest in the display.

Altogether, the campaign was a success. We accomplished our goal of educating the campus about the existence of dirty money in politics. If we were to do it again, we could try to engage the campus more by holding campus discussions or a speaker on the subject of clean elections. We also could have more explanatory signs that were even more noticeable to the people passing through. However, for our first attempt at a different kind of numbers campaign, we are extremely pleased with the results. We would encourage other campuses to give it a try!

-Erin Griffin
St. Lawrence University