The controversy surrounding the ASI elections has gone unnoticed by some voters and reassured some others of their choice.
Students in a journalism class section of MCJ 2 (Media Writing) spread out across campus on Tuesday as voting got underway.
Many students were not aware of what the ASI elections are or who the candidates running for presidency are. The controversy enveloping the candidates was foreign to most of them. Since many students don’t know the function of the ASI elections, they have decided not to vote. Others have decided to do some research before casting their vote.
The ASI election commissioner, Mary Davis, has already ruled against presidential candidate Carlie Hall and her Next Step Slate regarding several campaign violations.
She also cleared candidate Camalah Saleh of any campaign violations after a complaint was filed by student Aidan Brown, who alleged that Saleh committed “possible quid pro quo arrangements and unethical campaign conduct” in an incident involving the Pre-Med Club.
The ASI ruling stated that Brown is one of Hall’s Next Step Slate’s certified campaign workers. Hall and Brown are countering that Brown did not sign the campaign worker form, thus making it void.
However, the ones that have stayed up to date with the ASI election news have made the choice to either take the news into consideration or ignore it.
“The controversy just solidified my choice,” said Gizzel Velasco, a student majoring in communication.
Velasco said she believes that politics will inevitably have controversy, but you have to decide whether it will play a role in who you decide to vote for. She has not voted yet, but she is certain about who she will support when the time comes.
Seja Zaghmouri, a Fresno State senior, said that although she is graduating this year, she still cares very much about this election. She said she cares most about undocumented people and immigrants who are the most vulnerable. “I need good people in office to make sure they are comfortable,” she said.
Fresno State student Sienne Davies said, “I don’t really know much about the accusations, but I did hear something about one of the candidates dispersing Prime drinks, which isn’t allowed since we are a Pepsi-sponsored campus.”
Some students have an issue not only with the controversy surrounding several of the candidates but also the timing of the presidential committee that was charged with investigating campaign violations that had already been adjudicated by the ASI. The fact that these deliberations — and perhaps a decision — are being kept secret from students while voting is an issue.
“I feel like it’s not reasonable now since the elections are already going on,” said Emeline, a Fresno State student currently majoring in Animal Science. “And since she [Hall] already had problems during the election I don’t feel like she should.”
Athziry Hernandez, Taylor Melgosa and Jeffrey Ruvalcaba contributed to this report.
TP • Apr 3, 2025 at 11:51 am
Only dues paying members should be in a decision making capacity for the org. My understanding is university presidential intervention only legally acceptable if detrimental to ongoing campus activities of importance. Usually in the form of approving budgets. Other avenue university has is student code of conduct. ASI is a membership based organization that has a unique relationship with university.
I could imagine how tempting it is for staff and admin to try to “control” or influence ASI for a desired outcome – especially with a new student fee in progress.