2005 AS ELECTIONS

AS Presidential candidates square off at the Free Speech area

By MAURICE O. NDOLE

Associated Students presidential candidates Jennifer Reimer and Vianey Nunez agreed on many issues on their visions for the university during their presidential debate Tuesday.

But slight differences emerged in their views about The Collegian referendum, allocation of funding to student organizations and diversity.

Reimer, AS vice president of finance, said she was going to support The Collegian referendum, which seeks to make The Collegian independent of the student government by allowing it to be funded directly through student fees.

“I think The Collegian referendum is important for the paper to be separate to the student government,” Reimer said. “I think The Collegian has done a good job this semester and they deserve to be supported.”

Reimer said The Collegian plays an important role at Fresno State and it should be allowed to have its own independent funding.

Reimer said she would encourage students to vote in favor of the referendum.

Nunez, the senator for the College of Social Sciences, said she abstained from voting to endorse The Collegian referendum when it came to a vote in the AS senate meeting March 17 because it presented a conflict of interest for her. She said her decision was based on the findings of The Collegian survey, which indicated 65 percent of students surveyed were not willing to accept a fee increase in support The Collegian.

But Reimer countered Nunez’s views using findings of the same survey, which indicated more than 70 percent of Fresno State students surveyed agreed that The Collegian was an important part of Fresno State.

After the debate, Nunez, however, clarified her position about The Collegian referendum. She said she would vote to support the referendum because she liked The Collegian and also because she believed it was an important part of Fresno State and student life.

Another difference of views between the two candidates came when they were asked how they planned to increase participation in student activities around campus.

Nunez said she was running for president to promote diversity at Fresno State. She said the current student government did not represent the diverse image of Fresno State.

“Fresno State has 54 percent minorities,” Nunez said. “I don’t just support diversity, I want to promote diversity, that is my big thing.”

Nunez also took issue with Associated Students funding practices. She said under her presidency, AS would not choose to fund one program over another. She said AS chose to increase funding to intramural sports while reducing funding to The Central Valley Cultural Heritage Institute, also known as the Multi-cultural Center.

“I just think all programs should be funded equally,” Nunez said.

Reimer also said she supported diversity at Fresno State, but presented a different approach.

“I will use an all-campus approach to reach out to all students,” Reimer said.

She said Nunez was inaccurate when she said AS was giving more funding to intramurals and at the same time cutting funding for multi-cultural center. Reimer said a previous agreement between AS and the institute stated that AS would end its assistance in the 2004-2005 financial year.

Both candidates agreed that parking was a big issue that needed to be addressed. Reimer suggested that students should find alternative means of transportation like using the bus or riding bicycles.

Nunez said as president, she would encourage students to be more involved with the activities at the university. She also said she would make sure student committee selections would be based on merit and not looks or connections with the student government.

She said she would encourage students to join clubs because it was one of the easiest ways of becoming productive citizens.

In her closing statement, Reimer said, as president she would appoint competent students in various university committees, increase the student government visibility and tackle high textbook prices by finding more affordable avenues to purchase textbooks.

“Textbook prices are high,” Reimer said. “If you’re choosing between paying for your textbooks and paying for your rent, something is really wrong.”

The AS elections will take place April 20 and 21.