Endorsements key to homecoming victory

Nearly every business from Bigelow Boulevard to McKee Place displays a flier of a candidate… Nearly every business from Bigelow Boulevard to McKee Place displays a flier of a candidate running for homecoming king or queen in its window.’ But the extent of a company’s sponsorship varies from business to business. ‘Usually it’s financial gifts from companies or groups … because it does cost a lot of money [to campaign],’ said Lisa Duncan, Pitt’s vice president of homecoming and traditions, about endorsements for homecoming candidates. Duncan said that companies often give goods, pay for pledges to charities, money for T-shirts and banners or just advertising space. ‘ ‘ ‘ The candidates sought local businesses as sponsors in addition to student organizations and nationally recognized companies. The candidates often gain endorsements from clubs to which they belong or from employers. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Though student organizations generally give endorsements without expectations of benefit, area businesses sometimes use them in an effort to attract business, said a manager at the Oakland Qdoba. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Endorsements help out a lot with the financial end of things, as well as gaining recognition from the student body,’ said Caroline Sincavage, a candidate for homecoming queen. ‘ ‘ ‘ Sincavage claimed that endorsements are integral to a successful campaign. She chose her sorority, Chi Omega, as her primary sponsor. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Since I’m a sister of that particular organization, they all help me out a lot with the campaigning, and our house actually budgets to include money for the homecoming candidate, so I did receive money from them,’ said Sincavage. ‘ ‘ ‘ Rockstar Energy Drink donated drinks for Sincavage to hand out. ‘ ‘ ‘ Some endorsements, however, are not traditional endorsements. Victoria’s Secret permitted candidate Brittney Nolfi to put the company name on her fliers because she works at a Victoria’s Secret store. ‘ ‘ ‘ However, Emily Glova, a manager of the store’s location in Shadyside, said that the corporation does not officially endorse candidates. ‘ ‘ ‘ Each candidate has one primary sponsor that is a member of the Student Outreach Resource Center and unlimited secondary sponsors, said Duncan, Pitt’s. ‘ ‘ ‘ The campaign materials of Lacee Ecker and Alissa Fry both have Five Guys Burgers and Fries as one of their sponsors. Yet Chris Abel, a manager of the Oakland location, said that the company did not officially endorse the candidates and was surprised when he discovered that Fry and Ecker used the store’s name on their fliers. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I gave them a ticket for a free meal just to wish them luck,’ said Abel, adding that the two regularly ate at the restaurant. ‘ ‘ ‘ Finances are another important aspect of the homecoming race. The competition for king or queen can run up quite the bill. ‘ ‘ ‘ John Brown, a candidate for homecoming king, said that his campaign has cost roughly $550. Only $150 of that has come from his sponsors. Brown paid for the rest. ‘ ‘ ‘ Sometimes, endorsements can even hurt a candidate. Jasmine Hawkins, a candidate for homecoming queen, said that she lost support when she received the endorsement of the College Republicans. ‘A lot of people were mad because the College Republicans sponsor me,’ said Hawkins. ‘I went to my Facebook group, and I had one less member.’ According to Hawkins, people wrongly assumed after the endorsement that she is a Republican. She said that she is not a Republican, but the endorsement of the student organization upset some of her Democratic supporters. College Democrats president Lissa Geiger said that the organization did not endorse a candidate this year, despite having received e-mails requesting sponsorship. She said that the College Democrats did not feel they had the resources to endorse a homecoming candidate in the way they supported a club member last year, when they were busy working on the presidential election. Endorsements have the same importance to homecoming king candidates as for homecoming queen hopefuls. Jared Stabiner, a candidate for king, stressed the importance of endorsements. ‘Endorsements and sponsorships are very important for a campaign. Almost similar to the election campaign, support is key,’ said Stabiner. Stabiner used his experience organizing a corn hole event in Chicago to attract endorsements in the Oakland area. He put together a sponsorship package that he handed out to more than 20 businesses. ‘You pretty much lay out the benefits of why they should endorse you and hope that they give you a ring,’ said Stabiner. He said that he tried to pursue the support of businesses that he liked and had good experiences with. Stabiner is especially enthusiastic about the support of Born 2 Shine Customs, an area business that is designing a pair of shoes for him to wear throughout the campaign. Stabiner added that the Blue and Gold Society, the Pitt Alumni Association and the Student Alumni Association give support to all of the candidates, as they organized all homecoming events. Each of these organizations’ names appear on the campaign materials of each student running. ‘ ‘ ‘ Patrick Moroney, president of Pitt’s mock trial team and a senior at Pitt, said that this was the first year a candidate had approached the team for an endorsement. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I suppose that people tried to gain our endorsement this year because of our success over the past two years and increased knowledge of our presence on Pitt’s campus,’ said Moroney. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Mock Trial Team endorsed Carrie Tersigni for homecoming queen. Tersigni participated in mock trial her freshman and sophomore years. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Endorsing her was a no-brainer. She approached me about it, I put the question in front of our four-member executive board, and we decided unanimously to endorse her,’ said Moroney. ‘ ‘ ‘ Moroney said he had not expected any additional candidates to approach the team. However, after the team endorsed Tersigni, Tricia Schantz also approached the group for support. Editor’s Note: Jasmine Hawkins is a staff writer for The Pitt News.