The 2011 Associated Students Inc. executive candidates showcased their goals and experience at a question-and-answer forum yesterday.
Current ASI Vice President Lucy Nguyen and Alyssa Gelinas, a freshman nursing major, are the presidential candidates, while ASI Sen. Stephen Thomas and fourth-year student Melissa Molina compete for the office of vice president.
Current ASI Sen. Michael Quibuyen and Secretary of System-wide Affairs Justin Lawson are running for treasurer.
Candidates took turns at the podium in the University Student Union, Room 205, answering questions posed by ASI Executive Director Richard Haller.
Presidential candidates Nguyen and Gelinas spoke about what their objectives as leaders would be.
“I plan on getting everyone involved,” Gelinas said.
Nguyen said that her priorities lay in making sure students’ voices are heard and making sure they are represented.
Haller asked both candidates how ASI should address the issue of declining state support for education and increasing tuition.
“That is the million dollar question that nobody seems to be able to address,” Gelinas said. She said that she would try to work closely with other CSU faculty leaders and ASI groups to find solutions.
“It’s a struggle for everyone,” she said.
Nguyen brought up ASI’s Lobby Corps as a potential resource to aid in the fight for education, saying that she would try to “put forth resolutions that would advocate for higher education.”
Candidates were also asked why they think students should vote for them.
Gelinas said that she would “love to make [CSULB] integrated and diverse.”
Nguyen relied on her credentials as current vice president of ASI.
“I think my experience speaks for itself,” Nguyen said.
A small group of students silently entered the forum near its start and sat at the back with signs directed at Nguyen. The signs read “Recall Lucy!” and “Lucy is a snob!”
The presidential forum was followed by a similarly structured vice presidential forum. Thomas geared his speech toward the future success of students and pushed for quicker graduation and well qualified graduates.
“My main passion for the following year will be advocacy,” Thomas said.
Molina stressed making ASI more accessible to students.
“Not many people know what ASI does,” Molina said. “The important thing is to get our image out there.”
When asked why she thinks she deserves student votes, Molina called upon her experience and dedication to Cal State Long Beach. Thomas also cited his experience, saying that his current senator position prepares him well for the vice presidency.
“My years of ASI experience have helped me to see what can improve and what works,” Thomas said.
The floor was then left open for the two treasurer candidates.
Quibuyen said that the treasurer position was not simply about numbers and money, but also about effectively meeting with students who need help.
“The type of person I am, I will definitely be able to represent the students well,” Quibuyen said.
Lawson countered by saying that, although he believed that treasurer was the most ambiguous of the executive positions, he was more than ready to meet the challenge.
“I would really do my best and put everything I have into making ASI successful,” Lawson said.
An anonymous student group has been petitioning to recall ASI’s current executives. But as the end of the current executives’ terms approaches, the group has yet to initiate a recall election.
Online elections for student government will be held March 21-24.
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