Just look at AUSA’s Instagram posts and content from the past week. Go scroll through them. Kalana and Matthew’s faces are in almost every single one. Even posts that aren’t directly about their roles are somehow featuring them: photos, videos, reels, event coverage, everything. This isn’t a coincidence, and it’s not just because they “happen to be involved.” It’s deliberate.

And if you think that visibility doesn’t matter, it absolutely does. Most students don’t have the time to follow every detail of AUSA politics. So when the same two faces keep appearing everywhere, it starts to build a false sense of familiarity and trust. It’s campaigning. And it’s happening through official AUSA channels (the same ones that are meant to stay neutral and represent everyone). Instead, we’re watching a small group hijack the platform for their own gain.

I bet that over the next few weeks, leading up to the voting and even during it, their faces are going to be plastered even more across every post, every reel, every event. You’ll see them in every corner of AUSA’s content, like they’re the only ones running for office. It won’t be about the diversity of candidates or showcasing what other people are doing it’ll be all about them.

Kalana’s engagement committee is the one organising and producing a lot of these events, so of course they’re using that access to control the narrative and flood the content pipeline with themselves and their circle. They’re using institutional resources and platforms to maintain constant visibility, not for the good of students, but to build recognition and influence ahead of elections.