A late-comer in the election season, Students First! has put together an almost complete slate in a very short time. Students First! presidential candidate Joe Devlin has constructed a piecemeal slate that has gained the support of many of ASI?s top brass and many clubs and organizations on campus.

Devlin may have only been appointed to the position of Director of Social Sciences in March, but he has quickly left his mark on the ASI landscape. Within days of declaring his intention to run for ASI President, Devlin had nearly filled a slate and taken two of his opposing slates?s brightest stars.

“I have been able to put together a fantastic slate in quite a short time,” said Devlin while putting up signs in the Library Quad over the weekend. “These are great people, and we make up a great team with invaluable experience.”

The Students First! executive team consists of Devlin, and two candidates that originally were involved in other slates: Liz Markey for Vice President of Finance and David Sommers for Vice President of University Affairs.

The diversity of the slate is reflected in the fact it is the only slate with an active member of a sports team and also has five candidates that are members of Greek organizations, making it an appealing slate to two of the groups that historically have higher voting turnouts than most other groups on campus.

“Not only do we have the most experienced student leadership available in this election, but we also offer the most realistic goals,” said Sommers. “On committees, members of our team have advocated realistic goals for students.”

The Students First! slate has many goals, but the most important aspect of these goals to many of its members is that they are realistic. They would like to accomplish things that would bring immediate results in their year in office and offer the most benefits to students.

Students First! would also like to seek solutions to current campus problems instead of focusing on what they feel are unrealistic goals that many other slates have focused on during the campaign.

Other goals that the Students First! team has established is giving all students equal access through expansion of online student services and an overall improvement in campus life through reaching out to students.

“We can improve campus life by involving all students,” said Crystal Chase, candidate for Director of Arts & Letters. “ASI members need to reach out and make personal connections with students outside of their respective clubs or organizations. This is the key to involvement.”

In addition to Chase, the other candidates for director positions on the Students First! slate are: Tim McGallian, Business; Kevin Lewis, Engineering and Computer Science; Mike Plescia, Health and Human Services; Brandon Kline, Social Science; and Jason Omoto, University Union Board.