Campaign season for each campus's undergraduate student government is underway. Tempe's executive ticket, made up of presidential candidate Mark Naufel (right), vice president of policy candidate Brianna Pantilione (left) and vice president of services candidate Rob Wiley (sitting) is running unopposed. (Photo by Jenn Allen)
Monday marked the start of the 2012 student government campaign season and the release of candidate names from each undergraduate government and the Graduate and Professional Students Association.
The executive tickets for Undergraduate Student Government, Undergraduate Student Government Polytechnic and GPSA are running uncontested. Two tickets are running from both Undergraduate Student Government Downtown and Undergraduate Student Government West.
Finance and computer information systems sophomore Mark Naufel is running unopposed for Tempe USG president, with accounting sophomore Rob Wiley as vice president of services and interdisciplinary studies sophomore Brianna Pantilione as vice president of policy.
They intend to ensure that USG has a larger presence at the Capitol by training staff members to lobby, particularly for their main goal of providing tax-free textbooks.
“In our years at USG, we’ve always had something to rally against,” Naufel said. “I think it will be cool to rally for something that helps students instead of defending things that we’re losing.”
Students on the West campus will face a choice between two executive tickets. Political science junior Luke Webster and political science sophomore Zeke Reed are both running for president.
Webster and his running mates, psychology undergraduate Isaiah Grissum and political science senior Julio Valadez, decided to run at the last minute, Webster said in an email.
Webster founded Glendale Community College’s Veteran’s Support Coalition and worked with the Arizona State Legislature to expand support for veterans from Afghanistan. Neither he nor his running mates have prior experience in USGW, but Webster said they are well equipped to represent students.
“I practically live at this campus and many, many of my friends actually do live on campus,” Webster said. “Their home away from home needs to have the things that will make it the best place it can possibly be.”
The three members of USGW’s other executive ticket are all part of the current government. Reed serves as vice president of policy alongside secretary and political science sophomore Aisling Serki and psychology junior Daniella Lara, a senator.
Reed said he has realized through his years in USGW that aspects of the government’s system prevented it from working as well as it should.
“I’ve never been one to operate inside of boxes or just do things the way they’ve always been done,” Reed said.
Food industry management junior Jeffrey Hebert is running unopposed for USGP president, with operations management technology sophomore Franz Ferguson running as vice president of services and business administration junior Shauniece High as vice president of policy.
Hebert said the three hope to improve communication between USGP and other student organizations on the Polytechnic campus and promote more ASU pride on campus.
“We’re all very involved on campus,” Hebert said. “The three of us are doing this because we really like the opportunity it gives us to make a difference.”
USGP also released the names of 17 candidates for 12 senate seats.
Anthropology graduate student Rhian Stotts is GPSA’s sole presidential contender. Stotts has served various leadership roles in GPSA since 2009, most recently as the vice president of external affairs.
“Working for GPSA has become a really important part of my graduate school experience,” Stotts said.
She said she learned from the different positions and feels qualified for the position of president.
Although GPSA requires candidates for executive offices to run independently, Stotts said she and the candidates for each office have talked about how they would like to see GPSA better represent graduate students on all four campuses.
Counseling psychology graduate student Erin Kube is running for vice president of internal affairs, counseling psychology graduate student German Cadenas is running for vice president of external affairs, and communication graduate student Megan Fisk is running for vice president of professional development.
All executive candidates are running unopposed. Fifteen graduate students are also running for 25 seats in the GPSA assembly.
USGD candidates were announced March 12 and began campaigning Monday.
Elections will take place online through students’ MyASU accounts April 10 and 11.
“Caring about student elections is really important because those people actually can make a difference in students’ lives,” Stotts said.
UPDATE:
Anthropology graduate student Rhian Stotts is running for GPSA's president. Stotts has served various leadership roles in GPSA since 2009, most recently as the vice president of external affairs.
“Working for GPSA has become a really important part of my graduate school experience,” Stotts said.
She said she learned from the different positions and feels qualified for the position of president.
Although GPSA requires candidates for executive offices to run independently, Stotts said she and the candidates for each office have talked about how they would like to see GPSA better represent graduate students on all four campuses.
Another GPSA presidential candidate, law student Chase Rasmussen, was initially disqualified for inadequate assembly attendance. The Associated Students of Arizona State University Supreme Court ruled Monday to return eligibility to each disqualified candidate.
Counseling psychology graduate student Erin Kube and law student Amanda Fischer are running for vice president of internal affairs; counseling psychology graduate student German Cadenas and law student Scott Adams are running for vice president of external affairs; and communication graduate student Megan Fisk and law student Daniel Hutto are running for vice president of professional development.
Fischer, Adams, Hutto and six GPSA assembly candidates were also ruled eligible by the ASASU Supreme Court Monday.
21 students are now running for 25 seats in the GPSA assembly.
Reach the reporter at julia.shumway@asu.edu or follow @JMShumway on Twitter.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
