The executive ticket for Undergraduate Student Government West is running unopposed but has a clear idea of what they want the campus to look like in the coming year.
The West campus, the smallest of ASU's four main campuses, is located in northwest Phoenix. It has almost 5,000 students and seven undergraduate degree-granting programs. Alexis Blasko, a junior studying health sciences and the candidate for USGW president said the small campus is what makes it special.
"We represent a smaller group of people, which makes us a lot more community-focused," Blasko said. "We get to know personally the clubs and the student leaders that we're working with, and form long-lasting relationships with them that might not be on the other campus."
Blasko has been part of USGW since her freshman year and started as director of health and wellness, later becoming the vice president of services in 2022. Blasko said she wants to run for president to help other students have an easier time during their college careers.
"When it comes down to the core of it, it's just about helping to pave that pathway for other students," Blasko said. "I think it's really important that by the time I leave, there are things put in place so that students don't have to have it as difficult as some of us have had it during our time here."
The executive ticket is running on their "growth starts with us" platform that emphasizes service, sustainability, student engagement and transparency. Blasko and the rest of the executive ticket have encouraged students to still vote and participate in the election process despite being the only USGW candidates on the executive ticket this year.
Rae Stusen, a transfer student studying environmental science and the lone candidate for vice president of services, said they hope the student body will view them and the rest of the executive ticket as an accessible resource for concerns students may have.
"We just really want the whole student body to know what we are doing," Stusen said. "And just let them know that we are actively responding to any concerns that they have and actually benefiting the community as a whole."
Stusen has been part of USGW since transferring to ASU in the fall when they started as director of sustainability, and currently serves as vice president of policy. Stusen said they ran for office wanting to make a change on the West campus for students needing resources, such as financial aid and dining.
"I really just want to give people more access to all of the resources that they have on campus," Stusen said. "I just really want to make things like that available for people."
The ticket is pushing to maintain relationships with the other student leaders on both the West campus and other campuses. Lindsey Stevens, a sophomore studying social justice and human rights and the candidate for vice president of policy, said they look forward to meeting the other USG leaders on every campus.
Stevens started as a USGW senator at the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation and currently serves as a senator for the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences. She said despite having a smaller campus feel, they still want to connect with all ASU students to form a larger sense of community.
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"ASU and USG specifically have shown me a community that I think is essential for college kids and beyond," Stevens said. "I truly think that I do have the passion to take chances and improve our school as a whole."
Voting for the USG elections will open for all campuses Tuesday and remain open until Wednesday night. Results for all USG elections will be announced on Thursday.
"I think it's incredibly important that the students remain well informed about who their leaders are, what they represent, what they're passionate about and know that those ideas can be promoted and advocated for," Blasko said.
Edited by Shane Brennan, Jasmine Kabiri and Caera Learmonth.
Reach the reporter at alysa.horton@gmail.com and follow @alysa_horton on Twitter.
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