It has been four years since the Associated Students Inc. elections have been this competitive. In 2009, four people ran for president. This year there are five and with contenders from all corners of student life. As the Cal State University continues to deal with California’s budget crisis, it is even more important now, to elect student leaders ready to listen to student concerns about campus and state issues.
Facing this difficult time, our university requires a student leader with experience and a different perspective. These two unique and sometimes opposing qualities can be found in presidential candidate James Suazo. Suazo provides both a calm but empowering approach, visible in both his protesting efforts and his work with the College of Liberal Arts Student Council.
Suazo is willing to go to all lengths to invite students into ASI, an issue that many of the candidates agreed was a problem at Thursday’s debate. His plans to bring the government to students instead of students going to the government is commendable, especially on a campus where commuters find it difficult to get involved.
Another point on Suazo’s platform is shared governance, in other words, having more students make decisions concerning the campus. Although Suazo does not currently hold an executive position, he has made efforts to not only relay information to ASI but also inspire changes within in it.
When the Academic Senate was discussing changes to general education requirements, Suazo went to the CLA council, told them of the changes and the council wrote a resolution. This shows that Suazo can communicate to students he represents, a quality needed in such dire times.
A vice presidential candidate that stood out was Jonathon Bolin. Bolin’s platform is student orientated and related to issues on campus. For the many students who don’t know what ASI is, Bolin is approachable and relatable. In his answers at the debate on Thursday, he echoed many student concerns, such as the cost of higher education.
As a candidate he seems not only “out of the box” in his appearance but thinking as well. There were a few candidates who praised current President Lucy Nguyen’s “Coffee with the President” campaign, but Bolin provided a new idea. His idea to shift from the current “Coffee with the President” to a town hall setting at the Nugget is innovative and seems like it would capture not just students already involved in ASI, but other students who may not think ASI is all that helpful.
During Thursday’s vice presidential debate, one issue brought up was ASI’s ability – or lack there of – to involve a diverse body of students in the organization. Some candidates called ASI “cliquey” and many agreed that coming to the Senate chambers the first time was intimidating. Since one of the ASI vice president’s responsibilities is to chair the Senate, this would play to Bolin’s approachability.
Voter turnout has declined in ASI elections. When ASI switched from paper to online ballots voter turnout increased from 1,027 students to 4,800 but since then it has dropped. In 2011, 2,941 people voted. This year’s elections have provided students with a variety of candidates – candidates from outside and inside the current administration.
Sometimes the best candidates come from different places. Although it may be the best policy for candidates to run on a ticket in order to get more votes, the best teams can sometimes be the ones that are unplanned. Both Bolin and Suazo bring different qualities to the table that highlight what their main duties would be if elected president and vice president. Suazo has “taken to the streets” and also guided resolutions for change. Bolin knows what students concerns are. We believe together the candidates have the potential to dramatically change student government.
