The voices of Sacramento State students were heard, both through votes and absences, in the Associated Students Inc. elections on April 11.
According to ASI’s website, the leaders are tasked with representing the student body and discussing solutions to problems students may be facing. Voter turnout this year was only 13%, with 3,821 out of the 29,422 eligible student voters casting a ballot, according to ASI Associate Director Harbir Atwal.
Fourth-year sociology major Sonja Ganoza wanted to vote but was overwhelmed by the voting website and decided not to. One candidate who stood out to her was Wasim Hamdani, as he made it known in his campaign that he was a low-income transfer student.
“He was one of the only candidates to share those facts about himself,” Ganoza said. “I noticed a lot of the other candidates listed their achievements first thing, and I didn’t see a lot of personal connection.”
Hamdani ultimately won the election and will be ASI’s vice president of finance.
Ganoza said she hopes ASI will maintain diverse leadership to match the student body.
“Sac State was more diverse than I thought it would be in terms of students and faculty, but it’s something that can still be worked on,” Ganoza said.
Austin Busch-Estrada, fourth-year political science major, said he believes electing ASI members of underrepresented socioeconomic backgrounds is important. As a working-class student, he sees the overrepresentation of non-working-class students in ASI as conflicting with Sac State’s support for working-class students.
“I don’t like the idea of students who are not from working-class backgrounds winning $15,000 scholarships with no competition,” Busch-Estrada said. “So many working students are struggling to even afford tuition or keep up with their responsibilities to their jobs.”
RELATED: Voters support second term for current ASI president with 13% turnout
Fourth-year philosophy major Carlos Ramirez wanted to vote but said he forgot and missed the voting window.
“As long as the student government addresses students’ concerns for safety, the future of campus safety will hopefully get better,” Ramirez said.
Third-year communication studies major Sydney Shipley and fourth-year business and human resources major Rachel Hess weren’t fully aware that the election was happening.
“I might have seen a sign, but I was running late for class and didn’t really stop to read it,” Shipley said.
Hess said she saw ASI info booths but didn’t know where students go to vote. Neither Hess nor Shipley knew who was running or who was elected. Regardless, Hess said she wasn’t worried about ASI’s future.
“I’m out of here in May,” Hess said.
ASI President Nataly Andrade-Dominguez ran unopposed and won reelection with her running mate, Executive Vice President Gabriel Conejo Gallegos.
Other elected ASI officials include Vice President of University Affairs Sabrina Charleston, Vice President of Finance Wasim Hamdani, Vice President of Academic Affairs Jenn Galinato and others.
As a political science major, Busch-Estrada also said that he was disappointed that only one candidate ran for Director of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies.
“The idea that the college representing political science majors who, in theory, should be the most politically active and engaged students on campus, had no competition was disconcerting,” Busch-Estrada said.
Busch-Estrada said he believes students are both disengaged and disinterested in getting engaged, evidenced by the low voting and turnout rate of the election.
“Most of the activity within ASI doesn’t connect with average students and does not motivate them to participate in any on-campus initiatives,” Busch-Estrada said. “I hope the new board will reflect on this.”
