Crowd members erupted in applause when Student Government presidential candidate Ryan Sands strutted to the podium Thursday in the Journalism Building, complete with background music, a red sweatband and bright yellow shorts.
“That was freaking awesome,” Sands said after his entrance. “I believed it.”
Sands, theatre freshman, and Steve Mayeux, English sophomore, presented their “Mass Turban Nation 2006” campaign platform with a slideshow and questions from fake reporters dispersed throughout the crowd.
Sands said he organized the rehearsed and video-recorded press conference for his comedy Web site, salamivice.com.
Sands and Mayeux said they decided to run for SG president and vice president to promote the fall premiere of their Web site’s comedy episodes, Mayeux told The Daily Reveille.
The majority of the slideshow featured the candidates’ defense to “vicious rumors” about wearing eyeglasses only to appear intelligent.
Sands told a story about forgetting his glasses at home and going to McDonald’s to order a breakfast burrito. Sands said he became anxious because he could not see the menu and accidently ordered the McRib sandwich. A photo of a McRib with the caption “Eww” appeared on the slideshow.
“There is a deep segregation [on this campus] between glasses and non-glasses wearers,” Sands said.
After the slideshow, the candidates answered questions from mock reporters, such as one who said she was “from the Tiger Every-Other Weekly.”
When “reporters” asked how they plan to improve graduation rates, the candidates said they encouraged increasing the Greek community so the grading curves in classrooms would be higher. Sands said because curves would be higher, more students would be able to graduate.
Both candidates said they were intimidated by Chris Odinet and Christen Heaton’s campaign, “The Difference,” but they assured crowd members they would not drop out of the race as long as their supporters do not actually vote.
“If you do not vote for us, then we will not drop out,” Sands said.
To conclude the press conference, Sands and Mayeux led the crowd in a raucous cheer of “Mass Turban Nation.”
 
Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]