ASUA General Elections are here yet again.
Every year, the Arizona Daily Wildcat Opinions Board convenes to interview
all ASUA candidates and determine who it thinks would be best for the job
This year the pool is competitive and diverse, representing people from various
organizations and embodying different interests and activities.
The following represents what the Wildcat Opinions Board believes would be ideal officers to lead ASUA
Students can vote online starting today at 8 am through tomorrow at 8 pm. Go
to www.asua.arizona.edu to cast your vote.
President
Ray Quintero
BPA
Former ASUA senator Ray Quintero understands that new ideas and a more visible presence are required to rid ASUA of student apathy.
ASUA's president is the chief spokesperson for the student body, and it is therefore imperative that he/she is able to reflect their views.
Quintero would like to see the PULSE team, ASUA's student polling group, turned over to the Senate so student
feedback can be considered when decisions are made.
Furthermore, Quintero's service as director/student lobbyist for Arizona Students' Association (ASA) provides
the practical experience necessary to serve as a voice for UA's student body at the state level.
Student advising at the UA is in dire need of a overhaul, and Quintero has proposed several innovative changes.
He suggested improving the advising task force to encourage interdepartmental communication between advisers to
ensure informational consistency.
He would like to implement some of the business college's advising procedures, such as the ability to e-mail quick
questions to advisers and make appointments online.
Quintero also understands ASUA's role as a campus-wide event planner. He has proposed reinstating CatCraze - a
spring welcoming event similar to fall's CatFest - to welcome new and returning students to campus.
Most importantly, Quintero wants to draw awareness to ASUA and the services it provides through aggressive
advertising. If he is able to meet these goals, Quintero's administration
Executive Vice President
Sam Chang
Sam Chang would serve as an excellent executive vice president within ASUA. His experience as a lobbyist through the Arizona
Student's Association, along with his involvement in campus honoraries and Greek organizations make him a well-rounded asset
to the UA student government.
Furthermore, Chang wants to focus on feasible and important goals for improving ASUA. Along with presidential candidate Ray
Quintero, Chang hopes to move the PULSE program-a student polling program initiated by current President Ben Graff- to the Senate.
PULSE will help ASUA determine whether programs like Fall Ball are truly what the student body wants.
Chang also wants to develop a President's Club, a group composed of presidents from various campus organizations. This group
could share ideas about how ASUA funding can help them.
Clearly, Chang's experience and ideas would make him an excellent executive vice president.
Administrative Vice President
Brandon D'Angelo
Brandon D'Angelo is the most qualified candidate for ASUA administrative vice president. As a result of his experiences
as an ASUA club advocate, volunteer driver for ASUA Escort Service, Spring Fling's security employee and ASUA/RHA's youth
basketball league volunteer, D'Angelo understands how university programs and services are run and would know how to better
improve them in the future.
Also, D'Angelo hopes to expand the Escort Service to include more phone lines and a wider area of travel. He would also
like to see the current self-defense classes offered on campus be held more often than they already are.
D'Angelo also emphasized his desire for ASUA senators to be held more accountable for their positions. He would like
to hold weekly meetings with all involved members of the program and services under his vice presidency as well.
D'Angelo's plate is full of experience which makes him the appropriate choice for administrative vice president.
Senator Race
Sarah Calvert
Sarah Calvert's enthusiasm and concern for freshman issues would provide a fresh perspective to the ASUA Senate.
Working with corporate sponsors, UA's Escort Service and Cat Tran, Calvert would like to develop a much-needed weekly shuttle
service for students living on campus to stores such as Target and Safeway.
Calvert's plan to create an online calendar and to start a campus-wide, fall community project would provide an opportunity
to bring together students and UA organizations.
Doug Hartz
As a biochemistry and finance junior, Doug Hartz would bring a needed maturity and diversity to the Senate. Hartz's focus
is on building a stronger university community. He wants to create a shuttle service so the sick can easily access Campus
Health Services. He wants to increase minority involvement, and he proposes a strict office hours accountability policy.
Hartz is also in favor of a first-come, first-serve method for UA basketball tickets rather than the lottery method.
Gloria Macias
Gloria Macias has a valuable agenda for improving campus safety to bring to the ASUA Senate. She wants to lobby to
increase the number of light posts on campus, a practical measure that could do a great deal to improve campus safety.
Macias also supports dissolving the UA basketball ticket lottery system so all students will have a fair chance at buying
tickets. Finally, she is committed to building the relationship between ASUA and the student body.
Jared Mansell
Jared Mansell has concrete, workable issues on his platform, such as extending the ASUA Escort Service hours on weekends.
Also, Mansell wants to make residence hall housing contracts easier to negotiate by returning to semester-long contracts
so students may move to Greek houses, or off campus after the fall semester.
Mansell, a Coronado residence assistant, has already networked within the residence hall system and with other ASUA
members so that his issues become easier to handle and are more likely to be implemented.
Josh Maxwell
Josh Maxwell is running on what he knows - ASUA's club funding system and resident hall government. Maxwell,
former president of Cochise Hall, is pushing a fast-track money program that would immediately set aside 10 percent
of ASUA club funding to the residence halls.
A strong believer in backing issues that will have a physical effect on students, his platform includes
later hours for the ASUA Escort Service, fewer hurdles for clubs to gain funding and better student seating at McKale Center.
Jessica Patze
Jessica Patze, with her experience in ASUA as an articulate leader on the Appropriations Board, is a
capable candidate for the Senate. She supports extending self-defense workshops organized by the UA Women's Resource Center to other areas of campus, such as residence halls and Greek houses. She also supports increasing the Escort Service's hours and budget.
Clearly, Patze is a talented candidate who will be an asset within ASUA.
Jennifer Reece
Jennifer Reece's experience as a member of the ASUA Appropriations Board means she understands how
to make ASUA run smoothly. Her plan to implement a more efficient Appropriations Board includes requiring clubs to meet with a club advocate before they apply for funding.
As a senator, Reece would push for more on-campus event funding as well as implementation of a UA Club Olympics.
Reece's determination to organize the Appropriations Board and to get students more involved
on campus makes her a highly qualified candidate for ASUA Senate.
