What a difference a year makes. Last year, the kickoff to the A.S. election campaigns was a tense affair. Prior to the official start of campaigning, slates had saved poster space by having student organizations plaster Price Center and Student Center with their own posters. This year, not only was the campus devoid of suspicious posters, but the A.S. elections manager Tom Chapman worked with the A.S. executive assistant to put up their own posters, asking student organizations to contact them if they intended to use the space — a warning to would-be poster-savers. Candidates and their slates even waited patiently for an official time call from the elections manager. It appears that candidates have learned from last year’s disqualification fiasco — it isn’t worth jeopardizing whole campaigns over a couple of posters.

This new elections culture is a refreshing change, and Tom Chapman should be commended for his careful efforts in letting candidates know early on what is acceptable and what isn’t.

The candidates, too, seem to take campaigning seriously this year. Nobody is eager to repeat mistakes from last year’s elections — and so far, so good. It’s also a good sign that every candidate for president, vice president and commissioner positions, as well as many college-level candidates, have accepted voluntary spending limits. Campus elections shouldn’t be about whom can spend the most money plastering the school, and it is heartening to see that candidates understand this.

If the campaign kickoff is any reflection of the rest of the campaign period, this year’s A.S. elections may be the cleanest campaign yet. And with any luck, this year’s civility will serve to set a new tone for elections at UCSD from here on out.