57.9 F
Davis

Davis, California

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Senate Endorsements: Consider the following

On Nov. 12, voting will commence for the 2013 Fall ASUCD Senate elections. Six new senators will be chosen to represent the campus community for the next academic year. The California Aggie Editorial Board interviewed and evaluated each of the 10 candidates. City Editor Paayal Zaveri and Science Editor Kyle Scroggins were not able to view all of the candidates and were not part of the endorsement process. We hereby endorse the following four candidates:

1. Mariah Watson — SMART

Mariah has an impressive history of student involvement and experience with ASUCD, ranging from her position as commissioner on the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission and as Chief of Staff for former Senator Alyson Sagala. She is running on a feasible platform of implementing mid-quarter electronic evaluations as an extension of current Senator Liam Burke’s successful program launched last summer. She also aims to invest in The Pantry, a unit providing food and resources to students in need. The Aggie believes Mariah has the skills to optimize this valuable program.

2. Gareth Smythe — Independent

Gareth possesses a strong sense of the ASUCD budget and how to operate within its limits. His experience with the Internal Affairs Commission has given him a valuable working knowledge of ASUCD. Gareth has interned for current Senators Maxwell Kappes, Miles Thomas and former Senator Alyson Sagala. With a solid platform that includes bringing rentable electronics chargers to popular study spots and increased funding for Club Finance Council, we believe Gareth is an excellent choice.

3. Janesh Gupta — NOW

Janesh is well-versed in how ASUCD operates and delivered an impressive performance in the Nov. 5 debate. He plans on bringing student voices to Davis City Council and aims to bolster student involvement in their elections. Janesh has interned for current ASUCD President Carly Sandstrom, and we feel his experience will be well used.

4. Hiba Saeed — SMART

Hiba wants to reestablish the Campus Safety Unit and reinvigorate it with strong leadership. If done properly, students would benefit from an increased effort to make the campus a safer place, especially when Davis has encountered an increase in violent crime. Hiba also aims to have the University observe more religious holidays. While we acknowledge the potential for misuse, The Aggie appreciates any effort to make the campus a more accepting place.

Due to the limited number of candidates running, The Aggie has decided to reduce the number of endorsements this quarter. Additionally, The Aggie believes that many of the remaining candidates are running on unrealistic platforms, most of which surmise to lobbying facets of campus that ASUCD has no control over. We feel that Senate is not the proper medium to make realistic reform in these organizations, and that these six seats should be filled with students whose expectations align with what ASUCD can actually deliver.

1 COMMENT

  1. Thank you, Aggie, for not feeling compelled to endorse 6 candidates. Some of them really should not be working within the association.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here