My name is Cody T. Sedano, and I am a Fresno State veteran student.

For almost five years now, veteran students have been attempting to achieve voting representation in their student government. It was not until now that we are the closest we have ever come.

When I transferred to Fresno State, I was excited to begin participating in Associated Students, Inc. To my disbelief, I learned that there wasn’t a single position that actively represented veteran students. I then began to talk to many of my fellow veteran students, and I learned the long history of our fight to gain representation.

To my knowledge, the closest we came to representation was a veterans position in the ASI president’s cabinet.

With the help of ASI President Tim Ryan, we re-established that position, and I became the veterans and transfer officer in Tim’s cabinet.

With the help of Ryan and Blake Zante, as well as many in ASI, we got our resolution to create two new senate positions through the diversity committee. Getting those two senate positions on the ballot was our goal, and we succeeded.

This election, if the students vote in favor, veterans will have an active voting voice in their government.

This goal was bigger than just veteran students, however. If this struggle has taught us anything it’s that if there is a group of students that believe they are being underrepresented, the precedent has been set.

Go out, tell your campus what you want. Make your voice heard and never forget that our student government exists to be a voice for all students.