Prospective student candidates for ASUCD positions, including that of the president and vice president, have begun campaigning as the general election approaches.
ASUCD holds two general elections each academic year, one during Fall Quarter, when six senators are elected, and another during Winter Quarter. Six more senators and a president and vice president are elected during Winter Quarter.
Candidates can either run with slates or can run independently.
“The elections are students’ most direct and easiest way to have their voices be heard,” said Aaron Hsu, chairman of the ASUCD Elections Committee, in an email interview. “Students should participate in ASUCD simply because they’re affected by it. Not only do we pay over $100 per year to ASUCD, but whether we’re buying something at the CoHo, filling our bike tires at the Bike Barn, or getting to class on a Unitrans bus (or, of course, reading The Aggie), we’ve had an interaction with the way ASUCD is run.”
Leading up to the election, students have a chance to learn more about each candidate’s platform at a debate that takes place in the ASUCD Coffee House. The Coffee House Debate is tentatively set for Feb. 13.
ASUCD Senator Alyson Sagala, a fourth-year political science and communication double major, was elected to the Senate last quarter on the SMART slate.
“As much as the increased number of Senate and Executive candidates convolutes the electoral process a bit, it’s really great when students from different parts of campus decide to join ASUCD, because it increases our visibility and level of participation from the greater student body,” Sagala said.
Voting begins Feb. 19 at elections.ucdavis.edu and ends on Feb. 22. Voting is open to all undergraduate students. Election results will be announced Feb. 27.
— Stephanie B. Nguyen
