EDITORIAL: ASI candidate endorsements 2012

Editorial Staff

The State Hornet Editorial Board bases its candidate endorsements off of in-person interviews with each candidate. The contributing factors in the decision to endorse specific candidates were based on: transparency, leadership, an established plan of action, experience and characteristics it feels best represent the student body.

The State Hornet Editorial Board encourages the student body to research all candidates before making a decision to vote.

 

Monica Cortez – President

“If I get elected, I feel like it’s crucial that not only do we (ASI) pass legislation and do all these things, but that we communicated with students and make sure we are doing the right thing.”

 

George Cordero – President

“There is a lack of communication between clubs and (organizations), between students and faculty, between students and administration, between all of those entities. As president, I would want to serve is that connection between those entities.”

 

Nielsen Gabriel – Vice President

“I feel like a majority of students fall with in the middle class. They aren’t eligible for Cal Grants, Pell Grants and yet they can’t afford to pay $3,300 a semester. I want to see programs like the middle class scholarship move forward.”

 

GQ Dlamini – Vice President

“Besides the passion that I have for ASI, I also understand that I have to uphold what we have to do for students. I want ASI to do phenomenal things for students, we need to give students a vehicle to express themselves.”

 

Alexandria Cole- VP Finance

“I really want to revamp the many grant structures that are in place to help serve the majority of students like the Maidu Grant and the Championship Fund. Many people want to either do away with the grants or just change its whole purpose. I think it’s because of the structure of the grant that no one applies for it or it’s the reason of promotion that clubs, orgs, programs are unaware of it.”

 

Lauren Carpio – VP Finance

“I really want to push for students getting more involved in programs and making sure that the money comes back to them because the money is for them.”

 

Demi Oloye- VP Academic Affairs

“More and more students graduate in six years or longer. That’s what I would focus on the most – the graduation rate and the retention rate. The retention rate is pretty high, but I would like it to be closer to 90 percent.”

 

John Judge – VP Academic Affairs

“I would like to have a voting student representative on the faculty senate. To ask the faculty senate to amend its constitution to include a voting student representative would create a stronger bond between ASI, students and faculty.”

 

Caleb Fountain- VP Academic Affairs

Fountain would like to encourage students to take a more active role in their education by hosting academic workshops, alumni collaboration meetings and encouraging networking among new students and upper division students.

 

Kyle Tanaka- VP University Affairs

“It’s very key to get into the Resident Halls and to really strengthen the relationship between RHA and ASI. We need to really engage new students and transfer students in the dorms because we are one campus as a whole. We aren’t two separate sides of campus.”

 

Kelly Cassidy- VP University Affairs

“All organizations are affiliated with (Students Organizations and Leaderships) and I know the Greeks get presentations from ASI, but I want all organizations to receive these presentations so they may utilize ASI to its full potential.”

 

Erica Brown-Arts and Letters Director

“I want Arts and Letters’ students to feel passionate about our program. I want to make sure that we showcase all that Arts and Letters have to offer.”

 

Tiffany Ann Sodano- Arts and Letters Director

“Besides lowering tuition, which I am fighting for, I would like to raise the retention rate, right now we are losing almost half of the students that go into the arts and letters. I believe we can do this by developing a mentoring program similar to the Odyssey (program).”

 

John Hobbs- Business Director

Hobbs emphasized his desire to utilize clubs and organizations as well as reach out to the under represented students in his college. He would like to further establish the joint council and encourage cross-college collaboration with other board members.

 

Ileana Grates- Business Director

“The student representatives need to speak with the students more. An issue I see with visibility is the board needs to be more proactive in the campus community.”

 

Sunny Sahota- Engineering and Computer sciences Director

“One of the changes I would like to implement is The Engineering Joint Council should be The Engineering and Computer Sciences Joint Council. Often times, there is an aspect of our college that is overlooked, collaboration is important.”

 

Juan Carlos Arrieta- Engineering and Computer sciences Director

“I want to get student involvement – keeping students involved in clubs and organizations and setting up a meeting with all of the presidents so they can collaborate and set up events”

 

Rosemarie Dauz- Health and Human Sciences Director

Dauz is interested in implementing a college wide newsletter for Health and Human services, further establishing a joint council and creating an open forum for HHS students to network with other majors.

 

Lusine Muradyan – Health and Human Sciences Director

“I want to utilize the one world initiative to connect the Health and Human Services college with the rest of the colleges, campus-wide as well as unify the college through events like the ‘Walk for Thought.’”

 

 Daniel Angulo – Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies Director

“I would like to strengthen the peer mentor program. I believe that if we pair up freshman students and upper division students, that would be the best way to mentor students.”

 

Ricky Hurtado- Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies Director

“The Odyssey mentoring program is designed to help students in the government department. I want to build this type of program into other departments so that students can benefit from their department as a whole.”

Courtney Williams – Natural Sciences Mathematics Director

“What I want to do is connect students to the resources that they need and be that voice for students to talk to department chairs – to talk to the Dean and find out how to fix (problems).”

  

Darsey Varnedoe UUOCI Board of Directors

“I want to push for a bi-semester public forum, so students in the community can come and learn about what their board of directors are really doing for them.”

 

Richard Lucier- State Hornet Publications Board

“I know that there are budget cuts and limitations, but it would be really great to see the paper go back to two times a week. I want to be an objective student representative that serves the student body.”

 

 Kati Kouklis was unavailable for comment with the State Hornet Editorial Staff.

 The Editorial Staff can be reached at [email protected]