USUSA Greek Town Hall recap
On Monday night, Utah State University Student Association held Primary Town Hall in the Taggart Student Center ballroom, where candidates running in the 2020 to 2021 student election presented their platforms and answered questions from the audience.
The event is part of Elections Week 2020, which runs Feb. 23 to Feb. 27.
The USUSA presidential candidates answered questions first.
Rachel Arner said she is planning on making office hours for the presidential cabinet that will be used throughout the day.
“I want a low pressure environment to interact with the student body”, said Arner.
Sami Ahmed, the current USUSA Executive Council President, said he will continue what he is doing by taking students to dinner at The Marketplace, talking with them in the halls and establishing relationships with them. He said he has his own way of relating with students.
Ahmed said he doesn’t know all of the challenges the USU Fraternity and Sorority Life community faces, but he is willing to have people come talk with him, address their concerns and work together for solutions.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with Alpha Chi Omega and I want to be an advocate for you” said Ahmed
Arner said she wants to recognize goals together and create accessibility to Greek life for other students.
“I want to be honest and open in this program and give you the best of our abilities”, said Arner.
She will advocate for Greek life by understanding the goals each Sorority and Fraternity has and seeing how a new pilot program affects the FSL community.
This pilot program is the outcome of a court case filed against Utah State University when a woman was sexually assaulted by a man, belonging to a Fraternity.
Ahmed said he wants a mutual understanding of the program and work together to create goals that will help the FSL community.
“I am not well versed with this pilot program but I would like to create awareness about it”, said Arner.
Ahmed wants to highlight the good the FSL community is already doing.
Those running for executive vice president came up next.
Lucas Stevens said he had a plan for when things go bad, and he would work with others, listen to the students and serve effectively for the student body.
Rachel Taylor shared personal experience of when things went awry and how she handled the situation. She said she is committed to this position and has a passion for securing the students voice.
Alex Lyons said “if you love what you’re doing, you won’t give up in what you believe.” He said he loves being involved and enjoys helping others.
Lyons said he will surround himself with people who have similar goals, including his cabinet and push for more involvement. He wants to facilitate the students’ voices.
Taylor wants transparency for all students. She wants to increase knowledge of money — where it’s going, what it’s used for and what differences it makes on campus.
Stevens wants to improve the student fees tab on banner. He wants to find a “happy medium” on banner that will make accessing information concerning student money easier and quicker.
Stevens said he would apply to appointed positions in the student body and apply to the Student Fee Board. He said he would promote his platform even without the budget that comes by being in office.
“Leadership isn’t about a title, but rather, it’s applicable to everyone”, said Stevens.
Taylor gave her experience of working for the Information Technology Laboratory on campus and how she would push for better mental health aware initiatives for finals week. She also said she would push to improve the Testing Center’s procedures for testing.
“The university needs to combat the mental stress the Testing Center gives to students”, said Taylor.
Lyons said he would be a “serious annoyance to the vice president.” He would work to see if he could see eye to eye with whoever was elected and collaborate with them. He said he would also run for this position again.
Taylor said she has attended meetings with the Academic Senate, and seen how those meetings are run. She would love to collaborate with the senators and promote their ideas and events.
Stevens said he would support the Academic Senate by using skills he has learned from being involved with the colleges he is affiliated with. He would encourage these colleges and create a freshman position on their councils.
Lyons has been the senator for the College of Science, and he would train incoming senators on what works and what doesn’t. He would be above the learning curve.
Those running for Student Events vice president then came up.
Cy Robinson wants to collaborate together with each Greek chapter and promote FSL life on campus.
Porter Casdorph replied by saying he wants to create a campus-wide Slack message with different clubs, organizations and colleges.
Casdorph said Student Events vice president doesn’t just plan and create events but makes sure they are successful for the student body.
Robinson wants to advocate for students and said he sat on most of the Academic Council, so he knows how the process works.
Robinson said “you get out what you give”. He will make sure every interaction with students starts out on a positive note. He wants to develop good relationships with each individual and create a positive atmosphere for all student life.
Casdorph wants to take what he has felt through his involvement and give that to the student body. He said 90% of people like to be involved because of the people they serve with.
Wilkey wants to make winter sports and women’s teams a high priority if he is elected. He wants to make attendance mandatory for those involved with USU Campus Recreation.
Wilkey said the Hurd Committee has had problems in the past with HURD Premium. and he wants to make it a good experience for those involved. He wants to have an open forum meeting where students can come and voice their concerns about HURD Premium.
Wilkey said he would increase attendance at sports other than men’s football and basketball by starting with his committee. He would also require his committee to go to these events and encourage students to come.
The candidates running for Organizations and Campus Diversity vice president came up to the stage.
Anderson told the audience about his time as a student body officer in highschool. He said he has friends who are members of different clubs, and he wants to get rid of preconceived notions of the FSL community, such as the notion that this community encourages underage drinking.
Diaz talked about his experience in the LatinX Council, being in a Sigma Phi Epsilon service position and his volunteer work he has done in other clubs and organizations.
Diaz said he had a hard time coming to USU because he isn’t white or part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He then said he will be able to relate to them and advocate for them in meetings and on the USUSA Executive Council.
Anderson said people shouldn’t change who they are with conformity. He doesn’t want to change their diversity. He then said he isn’t diverse, Diaz isn’t diverse and none of us are diverse alone. Only together are USU students diverse, according to him. He wants to embrace all the differences to benefit all.
Those running for Service vice president took stage last.
Kara Bachman wants to involve the FSL community in service events. She said service is not just limited to big events, but it’s daily.
Caden Coleman wants to utilize AggieSync and link it to different service opportunities within different organizations.
Coleman said he isn’t fully aware of the resources available to him but will do his part and conduct research.
Bachman said she would reach out to program directors, give support to those in her jurisdiction and try to get funding for the Student Nutrition Access Center.
Bachman said she has a lot of knowledge about student poverty and plans on promoting SNAC. She also said she’d push for funding to give students more than a day’s meal.
Coleman wants to promote more awareness of this issue and advertise where the food waste goes. He wants to get more money for programs such as SNAC.
The candidates will be asked more questions in a debate with The Utah Statesman Wednesday at 11:30 a.m in the TSC Hub. The President’s Debate will be on that same day at 6 p.m in the TSC Sunburst Lounge.
Students can vote for the student elections online or find QR codes in the TSC or the Merrill-Cazier Library.