A college presidential campaign cannot really compare to a real-life one in its length or scope. But that apparently did not stop the creators of Vanderbilt Student Government from attempting to mirror the complicated United States election code.

VSG election guidelines are spelled out in four pages of statute available online at the VSG Web site, but it's not so much the length of the regulations as their specificity that calls to mind real-life campaign rules.

A few fun excerpts:

• "The Student Body President shall have served at least one year as an officer of VSG. In addition, the President shall have served in some capacity within VSG in the concurrent academic year of the General Election, beginning no less than 30 days prior to the election petition submission date." Ah, the infamous experience requirement. Many people find the first sentence of this section offensive to their right as Vanderbilt students to lead the school. But I didn't even know the second sentence existed. Let me get this straight. You could be a dedicated VSG member for two years, go abroad the fall semester of your junior year and be ineligible to run? Someone please justify that one.
• Students cannot spend more than $500 on their campaign. Just $250 of this can come from their own pockets; the other half must come in donations from full-time undergraduates. Undergrads may donate just once to a particular campaign and may give a maximum of $20. Imagine running a real-world campaign with that amount of cash. Candidates must report expenditures and contributions to the attorney general. Will VSG choose to make those forms public like the U.S. government does? Oh, and doesn't this sound like it would put candidates in Greek organizations or other such groups at an unfair advantage when it comes to raising funds? What are other candidates supposed to do? Pass a collection basket around in class?
• "Candidates may not use listservs to publicize any campaign effort ... Generic e-mails are permitted provided that each address is typed individually." This one just advantages patient candidates. Why take the easy way out and use a listserv? What practical difference does it make whether candidates e-mail organization members in bulk or member by member. The end result will be the same. Silly rule.
• Candidates may also prepare mass mailings and send them to all undergraduates through campus mail. But no door-to-door campaigning through the residence halls. Campaign supporters can decorate their own doors, though, for all the residence hall to see. And candidates may put one poster on the bulletin board of each hall. If they decorate stairwell doors, though, they have to use putty, not tape. Otherwise, university administrators might complain. Who has time for this?