Selena Farnesi
ASI President
Associated Students, Inc. elections are right around the corner. Elections will be held online, Tuesday, March 27 through Thursday, March 29.
With just a week before ballots end up in your Fresno State email, campaign Facebook pages have been made, posters are tacked up in the halls and candidates can be found passing out business cards in the Free Speech Area.
Even with all the campaign efforts of this year’s candidates, many students are apathetic about their role in ASI and unconvinced that they should vote in the upcoming election.
There are many reasons that every student should vote in the ASI election! The quick argument is, of course, that ASI is your official student representation to the campus, community and the state. Your vote is your voice, and whoever is elected represents that voice.
If that cliché phrase didn’t convince you that your vote is important, here are a few more reasons that all students should vote in the upcoming ASI election.
Fourth Floor Access
Whoever is elected to the office of ASI president will ride the library’s elevator all the way to the fourth floor. This person is responsible for meeting regularly with administrators whose offices are housed there. Whoever you elect will have the ear of the president, the provost, and the vice president of student affairs. This person will be the student these administrators go to for student opinion on issues of the university, so it’s important you vote for someone who you believe can represent you.
Shared Governance
Whoever is elected will be in charge of putting students on University Wide Committees. These committees are made up of faculty and administrators. They make decisions on everything from what food gets served on campus, to general education requirements, to what the campus fee will be. Members of ASI will be asked to serve on these committees and work with faculty and administrators to make those decisions. The work of these committees is extremely important and affects the academic and extracurricular experience of Fresno State students. It’s important to elect someone who can represent you well, but also someone you trust to choose other well-deserving students to serve on these committees.
You are Paying Them
Every student on campus pays a student body fee, and a portion of this fee goes to ASI. ASI uses that money to pay its executive team and staff to work for you. The money also goes to supporting tons of campus programs that are run by ASI, like club funding, research grants, the laptop loan program housed in the Henry Madden Library and the readership program that provides newspapers to the campus.
Fees, Fees, Fees
None of you will be shocked to hear that higher education is getting more and more expensive due to a lack of funding from the state government. Because of the budget cuts the CSU system has received, the CSU system has raised tuition, and individual campuses are constantly assessing and increasing campus fees. Fresno State is no exception. The instructionally related activities fee was increased by $70, and more fee increases are being discussed this year. Whoever you elect will be responsible for lobbying the administration in regards to fee increases. The student government also acts as the officially student lobbying organization of Fresno State to the capital regarding budget cuts and the importance of supporting higher education.
New Positions
This year, ASI changed its bylaws so that there are 15 Senate positions instead of 17, and four executives instead of three. The new executive position is the Vice President of External Affairs. As it is the first time this position is available, whoever is elected to this position will set the precedent for what the work of the Vice President of External Affairs looks like moving forward.
The reduction in Senate positions is also an important reason to vote; these changes affect who will serve as the chairs to the ASI Committees and who is eligible to run for Executive Vice President position (Chair of the ASI Senate). Just as with the Vice President of External Affairs, the people who are elected to serve this year will set the precedent in regards to how ASI Committees and the Executive Vice President work given the bylaw reforms. It’s an important election year for ASI and the future of ASI at Fresno State.
Watch your Fresno State email account for the link to the ballot for ASI elections. If you don’t receive the link, a login or a password, please don’t hesitate to let us know so we can make sure to get you the resources you need to participate in the election. Also, look out for our polling station in the Free Speech Area where members of the League of Women’s Voters will be able to answer any question you have about how to vote.
If you have questions about ASI programs or the work of the ASI Senate, please don’t hesitate to stop by the ASI offices in USU 316 and 317.
Selena Farnesi is the president of Associated Students, Inc. Follow her on Twitter @SMFarnesi.