Associated Student Inc. (ASI) elections are tomorrow, and after a year filled with controversy, students may hope to see a positive change in student government.

All this starts at the top, with the two executives, the president and vice president of finance positions.

Elected officials are representatives of the student population and are in charge of making nearly all decisions involving student affairs and the over $600,000 student body budget.

So it’s clearly important for students to understand the platforms of each candidate before heading to a polling station or voting from their home computers.

The positions have been broken down so that the candidates’ positions can all be understood, how they can make a difference on the Fresno State campus.

President

Tom Boroujeni, Jasjit Kamboj and Jessica Sweeten are all going to be on the ballot for the office of president.

Boroujeni is currently a music composition major, and while he has no experience as part of ASI, he has served on several committees at the university and has been part of the elections’ committee.

“If you ask any student, they will say that ASI is a joke,” Boroujeni said. “ASI needs to be focused more on helping take care of the students needs.”

His opponent Kamboj is currently the president of the Economic Students Association and a double major in economics and political science.

Kamboj’s platform suggests that he has bought into the university’s Master Plan while attempting to keep proper oversight of ASI funds.

“Students should vote for me, because I have an unyielding determination to make sure that all students’ voices are heard and that their needs are met,” Kamboj said.

Jessica Sweeten is the third and final candidate for the office of president. She is a junior agricultural communications major with an emphasis in public relations and is the only presidential candidate currently part of ASI, as the executive vice president.

She said that she believes students deserve more from their student government and is looking to keep those programs hurt by budget cuts alive.

“I think that ASI needs a strong foundation built that will encourage senators and executives to serve students more effectively,” Sweeten said.

Vice President of Finance

There are four candidates for the office of vice president of finance, an important position as it deals with the appropriation of the student budget.

The first candidate for the position is Hector Cerda, a graduate student in the school of social work. He has not been a part of the student government, but is an active member in working with students through the Fresno State Outreach Services.

He wants to make the budget transparent and accessible for all students by making public documents available so that students will know where their money is being spent.

“I want to make the budget easy to read because students shouldn’t have to go and request paper work and wait. It should already be available,” Cerda said.

Ezra Payton is a fellow candidate and would also like to see change in the representation of the budget. Payton wants to make ASI a new place that assists in protecting the rights of students while continuing to provide the services and programs so valuable to students.

“The reason I am running for this position is to serve students,” Payton said. “I am willing and ready to begin my term in office and take on any task that I am faced with.”

Payton is a member of the Craig School of Business and is currently representing his college as the business school’s senator.

Like Payton, Lauren Johnson is also an active member of ASI serving as the current vice president of finance.

The business major, with an emphasis in accounting, says that she has gained a lot of knowledge with a year of experience in the position under her belt and believes that an increase in student voice is necessary.

“If I am re-elected I will focus on having more one-on-one meetings with clubs and organizations on campus, in addition to academic departments, educating them on the funding opportunities available through ASI, in addition to other funding opportunities available across the campus,” Johnson said.

Joe Cha is the final candidate for the office of vice president of finance. His biggest issue is the lack of support in helping students to afford school.

He says that so many students are working full-time jobs and going to school full-time, which is unacceptable. He believes that their needs to be more funding available so students can focus on their academics.

“I want to fight fee increases and help students,” Cha said. “I will definitely represent their voice.”