The elected Undergraduate Student Government (USG) leadership has been in office for nearly two months, and as the semester crosses its halfway point, some campaign ideas have been acted on while others have left by the wayside to this point.
Thus far they have worked on funding for student clubs, listening to what changes the students would like to see on their campus and taking concerns to University President Michael Crow. The USG elected officials are now working to fulfill the promises they made to their respective campuses last spring during their election season.
USG Tempe
Morgann Kelly - President
Harold Rogers - Vice President of Services
Victoria Yusupov - Vice President of Policy
The Kelly ticket was elected to office after election results went to the University's Student Supreme Court. Kelly focused her campaign on "supporting environments of excellence," "accessibility to (ASU) services," "prioritizing student inclusion" and "advocating for the student experience."
READ MORE: Morgann Kelly elected USG Tempe President after ASASU Supreme Court reversal
By supporting environments of excellence, the Kelly presidency promised to create “Student Leader Forums” that would help student clubs and organizations on the Tempe campus grow and have a relationship with the student government. The administration said it will be giving presentations on social media and events for student organizations.
"This year we are building upon that to bring more information and awareness to student organizations about how to successfully run an organization," Kelly's administration said in an emailed statement.
To inform students about the work and issues that USG-T is attempting to cover, students will be able to listen to Sparky Unplugged!, a podcast that will be debuting soon. Students interested in listening to the podcast can follow @tempeusg on Instagram.
USG Downtown Phoenix
Harrison Sears - President
Seanika Mathis - Vice President of Policy
Pat Apap - Vice President of Services
The Sears administration was elected to office after running unopposed. The platform that Sears ran on included a student-first approach that focused on legislation, advocacy and events. Since winning the election, Sears and his team said they have attempted to uphold their campaign promises by supporting clubs through additional funding.
In an attempt to establish transparency between the elected body and the students, Sears said in an email statement that they have worked on updating their website with "relevant funding information" for downtown student clubs and are working on being available for the students they represent.
Sears said the administration is trying to be more "accessible to all students should they have any questions."
Amidst growing crime numbers at ASU, USGD hosts Safety Walks, events where students, USG and campus police walked around campus to find out where students feel unsafe. The event gives students a platform to ask safety related questions.
"We have continued with these efforts by following up with ASUPD, parking and transit, SAILS and other ASU departments to ensure that action is taken on the problems identified by on-campus students," the Sears administration said.
USG Polytechnic
Shaurya Manglik - Student Body President
Gurshant Grewal - Vice President of Policy
Aadish Lee - Vice President of Services
Shaurya Manglik won the presidency as a freshman while running unopposed at ASU’s Polytechnic Campus in Mesa. As the first international student to be elected to office, Manglik campaigned to represent international students, allocate funding for clubs that did not survive the COVID-19 pandemic and create various new activities throughout the year.
The Manglik administration said in an email that it will host events that represent international student cultures such as the International Domestic Student Social, Holi, Eid al-Fitr and the Lunar New Year.
The Polytechnic USG also said that they have been able to revive some clubs and create new organizations post-COVID.
"We have successfully supported and funded new clubs, established clubs, and also clubs that are restarting operations after the COVID-19 pandemic," Manglik’s administration said in an emailed statement. "We have also observed that clubs based on other campuses are taking an interest in expanding to the Polytechnic campus."
Manglik's administration said that they will continue to work on their campaign promises.
"We are proud of all that we have done in just a couple of months and are looking forward to doing much more in the months ahead," the administration said in an emailed statement.
USG West
Alexis Blasko - President
Lindsey Stevens - Vice President of Policy
Rae Stusen - Vice President of Services
The Blasko administration represents the smallest campus at ASU after running in an unopposed election. Blasko and her team campaigned on four main issues: working on providing students with the necessary resources they would need to succeed, providing transparent government, working on making West an environmentally friendly campus and working on communicating more with the students on campus.
Blasko said in an emailed statement that the administration has worked on fulfilling their promises by planning a variety of events that drive the relationship between the administration and the student body. These events have ranged from installing smoke detectors in homes to establishing a community lending library.
Blasko also said that Joshua Cole, the director of sustainability on the West campus, is working with students on making the West Campus more environmentally friendly.
"We have also been hosting successful University street markets, which allow both student and local vendors to sell their products to our students. These products are often thrifted or handmade and provide students with more sustainable alternatives," Blasko said.
Blasko also said that the administration is working on providing basic healthcare for students free of charge with wellness carts that will provide students with resources for basic needs supplies and menstrual care, as well as and establishing free semesterly health clinics and flu shot clinics. She also said West USG held a National Nutrition and Blood Drive Fair that served 135 student attendees and had 22 blood donors which saved 45 lives.
Blasko continued by saying that the administration has expanded its presence to students.
"Our presence and awareness on campus have increased significantly and students have been coming by to our office more often than ever before," Blasko stated.
The ASASU Council of Presidents is currently working on multiple statements about recent events that have happened on campus and around the world. The statements are expected to be released soon.
Edited by Alysa Horton, Sadie Buggle and Shane Brennan.
Correction: The original version of this story said the incorrect names of the Vice President of Policy and Vice President of Services for USG-Polytechnic and said events held by USG-Polytechnic have already been hosted. The story was updated at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023 to reflect the error.
Reach the reporter at gnavar10@asu.edu and follow @GhadielN on X.
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