With just a total of two weeks to campaign, prospective DASB senate candidates are allotted $100 for campaign supplies, if they choose to run as a coalition, they receive $50 for each candidate involved, with a maximum of $500. De Anza Student Body Senate candidates are not allowed to pay out of pocket for any of these materials.

Coalitions consist of a presidential candidate and their vice president, candidates running for chair positions and several candidates running for general senator positions. With a financial cap at $500 for the entire coalition, members of a coalition often receive more funding for campaign supplies as a unit, than if they were to run alone.

This year’s DASB election has two coalitions: Horizon, led by presidential candidate Katelyn Pan and Transfer-mation, led by presidential candidate Aleksei Kariakin. 

According to current senators who ran as a part of a coalition, running as a group was not about the additional funding.

“When I ran in a coalition, we really believed in each other and we believed that we could bring equity and equality on De Anza campus and that’s why we ran as a coalition,” said Bhuvaneshwari Natarajan, 34, journalism major. “It was never about the money.”

John Nguyen, 19, business administration major and DASB’s current flea market chair said there are other benefits of running as a coalition. 

“A lot of times, coalitions do know each other so it’s easier for them to come together and organize everything,” he said.  “It’s also easier to coordinate election responsibility when you run as a group.” 

Nguyen added that even though coalitions can receive up to $500, they often do not use their total allotment. 

“Coalitions often don’t even spend up to $500 because that’s a lot,” he said. “A banner itself is roughly $100. Flyers would be max $100.” 

If candidates spend more than the allotted $100-$500, they will be met with corrective action by the elections committee. 

If the infraction is deemed to be a major infraction, the party in question must complete a complaint hearing, which might lead to the candidate or coalition’s disqualification. 

“This is to allow for equity, so that a rich student does not have advantages over say a less advantaged student,” said Dennis Shannakian, office coordinator.