Paige Maney and Marc Fagaragan have officially been elected as President and Vice President of the Associated Student Body of Puget Sound.
“I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to be the next Vice President of ASUPS, and to represent a wonderful student body,” Fagaragan said. “Now it’s time to start implementing the goals and the vision that Paige and I have set out in our platform!”
Maney and Fagaragan defeated Emma Spalding and Taylor Smith for the positions. Students voted for their candidate of choice after intensive discussions and debates from both parties.
“The election process was fascinating. It was amazing to meet so many new people from all different parts of campus and to hear what kind of things they would like to see ASUPS do,” Maney said. “It was also strange to sell yourself and your ideas to people. I think that Marc and I both felt somewhat uncomfortable with that, but it was definitely a learning experience… It was great to be going through the process with someone you trust.”
“The election process was hands down one of the most stressful events of my life,” Fagaragan said. “Never in a short amount of time did I learn so much about myself…What really helped me through the process was having Paige by my side. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner.”
Maney and Fagaragan are already busying themselves with examining the structure and processes of ASUPS, learning from the current president and vice president, Eric Hopfenbeck and Santiago Rodriguez.
“Right now Marc and I are transitioning from Eric and [Santiago]’s positions and are attempting to learn the ropes from them,” Maney said.
During this transition period, Maney and Fagaragan are working to hire students to fill positions within ASUPS. These students will make up the officers working under the executive board, maintaining various services as the new officials prepare for their coming term.
“Our major next step is to hire an Executive team, the media board, and programmers for next year. Once we get those in place, we will be able to finish out the year and get started for planning out what kind of work we want to get done this summer,” Maney said. “We finally will have a chance to figure out how we are going to work together as teams to accomplish our goals for the upcoming school year.”
“We encourage everyone and anyone to apply for the positions. We are so eager to start working with our team, and to make next year one of the best years our school has seen. But we need active leaders to help us!” Fagaragan said.
The newly elected officials are looking for applicants to join the board under their leadership as they transition into office. Interested students are encouraged to fill out an application for an executive position. Forms may be found at the ASUPS office in Wheelock or online at the official ASUPS website.
“Besides hiring, we will continue to listen on the concerns of the student body, and hear about the things that they want to see change…so that we can facilitate projects and initiatives that the student body feels are important,” Fagaragan said.
Now that they are in official ASUPS positions, Maney and Fagaragan can fulfill their platform initiatives and provide more fully for the Puget Sound student body. Through the support of the community, our new president and vice president will be able to seek improvement and growth for the University as a whole.
“Thank you, the student body, once again for giving me the opportunity and privilege to be ASUPS VP,” Fagaragan said. “It is an honor.”
