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.
 
Vianey Nunez and Jennifer Reimer presented their vision about
how they will lead Fresno State if elected AS president in the upcoming
elections. Photo by Joseph Hollak |
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.
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