Presidential Showdown

AS candidates square off in debate the day before student body elections

By Laban Pelz

To whet the campus’ appetite for today’s Associated Students elections, four of the six executive office candidates debated in the free speech area Tuesday.

AS elections begin today and continue tomorrow with three-person races for both president and vice president of finance, and 26 candidates vying for 15 senatorial positions.

Vice president of finance candidates Jennifer Reimer and Chris Rusca, both current members of AS, spoke first. Candidate Mason Morin, chapter president of Sigma Nu, was not present.

Rusca, a business major, said he wants to allow student clubs and organizations more funding at one time, since some of these groups have their biggest event in either the spring or the fall.

Currently, AS allows clubs $2,500 a year for events, with a semester limit of $1,500. Rusca proposed to get rid of the semester limit.

Rusca also said he hoped to have as many clubs as possible apply for AS funding.

“ We have never had all the clubs utilize AS funding,” he said, adding that he didn’t want to have a surplus left over.

Reimer, a business administration major, said she is comfortable with finances and wants to make sure students know there is money for clubs.

Both candidates agreed personal contact with administrators is needed to foster communication, but differed over what to do when student concerns are ignored.

“ We need to encourage clubs and organizations to lobby,” Reimer said.

Rusca spoke of how students can deal with Fresno State administration when not taken seriously.

“ We can go above them,” he said, “and lobby with the Board of Trustees.”

Presidential candidates Michael Karbassi and Frank Puccio, spoke of topics beyond finance.

“ The AS president is the chief advocate of students, especially in a budget crisis,” said Karbassi, a former city council candidate. “I will mostly serve in trying to get student opinion.”

Karbassi said he is a good candidate because he understands the forces working on Fresno State.

“ It’s the committees that decide where money goes, but the amount of money we get happens at the state level, by the assembly and the senate,” he said. “Many things that happen to Fresno State happen externally, at the state and city level. I can work beyond these grounds.”

Puccio agreed the AS president needs to see beyond the campus.

“ We need to work with Long Beach and Sacramento,” the Sigma Chi president said. Puccio expressed his concerns that students are too disconnected from their AS representatives.

“ AS offers a lot of things the student body should take advantage of and doesn’t,” he said. “We need to get students aware. AS puts on so many great things, but if students aren’t aware of them, it’s all for nothing.”

Karbassi ended his speech by citing what he said was students’ antipathy toward AS representatives.

“ A lot of students are hostile to AS. Well, I’m new to AS, and I know who I work for,” Karbassi said, adding that he saw “a lot of room for improvement” in AS.

Though presidential candidate Molly Fagundes could not attend the debate, she did speak to the Collegian before elections.

“ I like to be involved in all aspects (of AS),” she said, explaining why she wanted to be AS president. She is currently AS executive vice president.

Fagundes responded to criticism that AS representation is irrelevant to students, citing both the return of the course catalog to paper form, which, she said, “AS was big in bringing that back,” and the campaign to keep the student section located where it is at Fresno State football games.

“ A lot of people don’t care about AS, but they do care about where they sit at football games,” she said.