ASUPS Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates held debates on March 9th in the Rotunda of the Student Union Building, moderated by current ASUPS Vice-President Marc Fagaragan. The debates provided an opportunity for the tickets to elucidate their platform, and allowed voters to view them in relation to one another.
Focusing on the their aspirations for ASUPS to be more engaged with the Campus community, Alexia Ingerson and Sergio Espinzoa and emphasized the fact that neither have been involved in ASUPS student government. Coming from an outsider’s perspective, they seek to improve the approachability of ASUPS to the broader campus community.
Austin Brittenham and Alissa Hartnig sought to allocate some of the $555,000 in the ASUPS budget for the provision of weekend services at Counseling, Health, and Wellness Services. The ticket also sought to increase proactive engagement by the ASUPS Executive team. Asked about their policies for sexual assault prevention, they advocated increased numbers of people in the student body going through sexual assault prevention programs; something Brittenham emphasized during his tenure as President of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity on Campus.
Multiculturalism and inclusion was the basis of Nakisha’s time during the debate. She focused on creating safe spaces and programming opportunities for marginalized people in the Campus community, as well her intention to use ASUPS as a platform to allow for more people to have their voices projected. She also spoke to the need for more support for CHWS in order to better support people needing their support.
Finally, Tim Pogar and Kaitlyn Vallance’s ticket centered their conversation on providing support for various campus communities. In particular, they focused on deeper inclusion of students in Campus governance through the abolishing of geographic Senator positions and increasing class and Senator-at-Large positions, as well as increasing the number of students in Student Conduct. They also emphasized their commitment to such causes as sexual assault prevention and support, as well as pursuing inclusion emphasizing their work towards gender-neutral bathrooms.
Polls close tomorrow at 12 pm.
