Campaigning for the Associated Students general election kicked off last week ‘mdash; and after running practically unopposed last spring, it looks like Student Voice! candidates are finally face a little healthy competition.
The Clean Slate has emerged this year as a major competitor, with Eleanor Roosevelt College junior Adam Teitelbaum set to go head-to-head with Student Voice! candidate and current Associate Vice President of Local Affairs Erin Brodwin for the council presidency.
Independents vying for the presidential spot include Thurgood Marshall College juniors Andrew Garofalo and Giang Pham and current Associate Vice President of Student Organizations Utsav Gupta.
‘The Clean Slate is all about a fresh start, and a fresh face to A.S.,’ Eleanor Roosevelt College junior and candidate for Vice President of Student Life Stephanie Usry said. ‘We think that A.S. has lost its focus and who it’s supposed to serve. We want to support student ventures, and we want to make A.S. much more accessible.’
Usry, who was an A.S. senator for two years, said she has avoided joining the Student Voice! slate throughout her career in student government.
‘I never ran with Student Voice! [because] I didn’t feel that they wanted me as an individual; they just wanted me to be on their slate,’ Usry said. ‘Adam [Teitelbaum] and I were talking and we decided to form a slate, and then we talked to some of our friends who have been involved in the [student community].’
Usry dismissed claims that the Clean Slate is a ‘frat slate’ or a ‘party slate,’ as many students have labeled it. She said the party is diversity-minded, and that all eight candidates have various backgrounds in student involvement on campus.
Current Revelle College Senator Katie Hall said she is running for all-campus senator under Student Voice! because the slate values student empowerment, access and affordability and campus community.
‘I really want to create a sense of pride all year long, not just on Spirit Night,’ Hall said. ‘I also really want to work on redoing our funding policies, because A.S. really needs to restructure how we fund student orgs with the [fees] we have students pay.’
Thurgood Marshall junior Sam Huang, who is running independently for Vice President of Finances and Resources, said her campaign is directed toward making the council more accessible to the general student body.
Huang said she is focusing her campaign on issues that directly affect students, such as the recent cancer cluster controversy surrounding the Literature Building.
‘I’ve been really frustrated with the way the university and A.S. have been running,’ Huang said. ‘It’s like students are commodities of the corporate university, especially now with the budget cuts. The Literature Building situation, for example, is an example of the state and administrative indifference for the university’s staff and students.’
Students will vote by ranking candidates in order of preference, a method that wasn’t used that year since most candidates ran unopposed. The top-ranked candidate in each position will be elected to the council.
At least 20 percent of the student body must vote for the election results to be valid.
‘We are anticipating a pretty heavy race this year,’ General Elections Manager and Associate Vice President of Student Advocacy Frank Carroll said. ‘I think it’s perfectly reasonable to see a 20 percent turnout margin, which is pretty good considering this university ‘mdash; apathy and everything.’
Voting will take place throughout second week of Spring Quarter.
Readers can contact Connie Shieh at [email protected].