PRESIDENT
Nicholas Donn
Major: Management information systems
Year: Senior
GPA: 3.2
Q: If elected, what do you hope to achieve as president?
A: I’ve been working for ASI for two years. I definitely feel like ASI doesn’t really have that leader, they need more of a real person who represents students. I want to really break down the barriers ASI has put up.
Q: How is your candidacy different from your competitors?
A: If you’re running for executive, we want to see your A-game. If your A-game is putting out stakes and playing everything by tradition, that’s cool, but I think it doesn’t work. So what I’m doing will touch the most students effectively and personally.
Q: How are you qualified for the position?
A: What really gets me is everyone says they’re really experienced – they’ve been a senator, they’ve been on the Board of Trustees. That’s great and all, but if you can’t lead the place where you work, I don’t think you’re ready to lead your school. Even though you’re experienced, it doesn’t translate into being a good leader.
Q: How will you advocate on behalf of the students for budget cuts and tuition hikes?
A: I’ve seen what ASI government is trying to do with writing letters to Jerry Brown, which is great, but they lack things on YouTube, they lack a blog, they lack Twitter, they lack all these things that kids use. What I really want to do is take all those letters and deliver them actually to Jerry Brown. I think that’d be so sweet to have a viral video giving it to him. What I’m launching this week is we’re giving out wristbands and it’s like we’re giving you something, and you can choose to do something more with that.
Q: Is there anything you feel that the current position holder is doing that you would like to change or continue?
A: [ASI] is just so cliquey. I just want to be a student who represents people. I don’t really care for the power, I don’t really care for being a suit and tie every day. What I really want to do is revamp the programs, like Smorgasport and even Homecoming. It’s very high school-y.
Elizabeth Gamboa
Major: History
Year: Junior
GPA: 2.2
Q: If elected, what do you hope to achieve as president?
A: I have a lot of ideas that I plan to present to the students. Basically, I have five or six big ideas that I want to do. One of them is bringing back football, the other one is creating Greek row, the third one is the Long Beach State University mascot and name change, the fourth one has to do with OrgSync and the fifth one is no taxes on textbooks.
Q: How is your candidacy different from your competitors?
A: I think I have actual plans. I have ideas on what I want to do to make the campus better. I think my opponents may not have as clear ideas as I do and plans and goals and I think that is what separates me from them.
Q: Is there anything you feel that the current position holder is doing that you would like to change or continue?
A: I know what I would not want to continue, what I mentioned earlier about OrgSync. It’s a pretty messy situation with OrgSync because not many people on campus use it and I think that I have a better idea of what to do with the money we are using for OrgSync, which would be to break the contract with OrgSync that ASI has and use that money to give to one of the other colleges like Engineering or the College of Computer Science, and let them create a website where students can trade, sell or buy textbooks, but it’s only going to be for CSULB students and I think that would be more affective than something like OrgSync.
Q: How would you increase the communication between ASI and the students?
A: I definitely want to have an open door policy – basically, [if] anyone has a comment, complaint or issue, I definitely want them to feel comfortable coming in and talking to me. I actually think that Lucy [Nguyen] started something really cool where she goes out and gives out coffee and just talks to people. I think that is a really cool way for ASI to get involved with the students.
John Haberstroh
Major: History
Year: Senior
GPA: 3.9
Q: How is your candidacy different from your competitors?
A: So far, just in this first week of campaigning, I haven’t seen anyone else out there campaigning. All I’ve seen is just posters from other candidates. I’ve been out there with my running mate Jonathon [Bolin], handing out flyers and actually talking to people, so I feel like I’m actually getting my face out there and presenting myself to the student body.
Q: What would be your main focus during your term?
A: I feel like ASI puts on all these events on campus that most people don’t know about, or, if they do know about it, they don’t necessarily feel excited about it. Sure, there’s posters up, but there’s no one actually going out there saying, “Hey what are you doing this Friday, there’s such and such event.” There’s no reason to not feel welcome or not to feel included.
Q: How will you advocate on behalf of the students for budget cuts and tuition hikes?
A: There’s a lot of waste in the system. It’s quite a problem, and that’s no secret. I just want to be able to go [to Sacramento] and say, “Hey, there are people who are suffering here because of your decisions.” It’s unacceptable, basically.
Q: In your own words, what is the purpose of your position and the important duties?
A: The president should be the representative of the people who elect that person. So if the students at CSULB have needs and desires, I’m the representative to the administration of this university. The president is a bridge between the students and the administration.
Q: How would you increase the communication between ASI and the students?
A: I think that every summer, when freshmen and transfer students come in and do SOAR, ASI should be an enormous presence there. You
need to say, “Hey, welcome to our campus. Here’s all the clubs, student organizations … Here’s all the things that you can be a part of at this campus,” really make students feel welcome.
James Suazo
Major: English education
Year: Senior
GPA: 3.2
Q: If elected, what do you hope to achieve as president?
A: There are three things I want to focus on. One is maximizing outreach. It can’t be that ASI is going to seek student feedback and go table outside the bookstore from 12-1, that ain’t gonna work. The other one is advancing shared governance. As a university, we are very unique. We have so many students who are really deeply involved with the decision-making processes – down to the little, tiny committees that seem like they make no sense up to the Academic Senate where they make all the big, top decisions. So it’s really important that we emphasize that students need to be actively engaged in those conversations. The last thing I want to do is make sure that ASI is maximizing its efficiency.
Q: How is your candidacy different from your competitors?
A: I’ve worked with cultural groups; I’ve worked with a lot of student organizations. I’ve worked with political groups. I’ve done a lot of lobbying in the past. I used to sit on the ASI Lobby Corps. I’ve done a lot of university service, a lot of things other students would consider very boring, such as great appeal committees, dean searches, faculty personal issues, so I’m very well versed in what those concerns are and the red tape of that.
Q: How would you increase the communication between ASI and the students?
A: I think the main way I would increase communication is not more email, I’ll tell you that. It’s going to be face-to-face conversation. Speaking and having this issue with the CLA student council that I can tell you it makes a big difference when I show up in your classroom saying, “Hey I want you to join our organization,” rather than me emailing you because then it puts a face to the organization and you make that personal connection. I have an office job right now, I don’t want to be stuck with another office job.
Q: What do you want students to know about you?
A: I want students to know that I don’t know what a vacation is. I put a lot of reflection into my decisions and I would never make a decision without seeking the input of others first.
Stephen Thomas
Major: Business management and operations and supply chains management
Year: Senior
GPA: Undisclosed
Q: If elected, what do you hope to achieve as president?
A: My mission is to continue promoting student success by eliminating obstacles that extend our road to graduation. These obstacles include tuition increases, class availability and access to advising.
Q: How is your candidacy different from your competitors?
A: My candidacy is different because I have a proven background of solving student issues. During my term as vice president, we have eliminated unnecessary student fees in the University Student Union, eliminated general education course requirements that delay graduation for thousands of students, opened up new avenues for student groups to fund organization graduation ceremonies and protected access to the campus for students with disabilities by restoring campus shuttle hours.
Q: How will you advocate on behalf of the students for budget cuts and tuition hikes?
A: I will continue to apply pressure to the legislative representatives by getting more students involved in the process of sharing their voice. Over the past four years, I’ve been to Sacramento in our local legislative offices sharing the struggles that we go through every day and I will continue to do so until we are heard.
Q: In your own words, what is the purpose of the position of president and the important duties?
A: The ASI president leads the students to success by ensuring that ASI is an advocate for student issues. The ASI president oversees the happenings of the University Student Union, The Student Rec and Wellness Center, the Child Development Center and the Recycling Center to ensure that the priorities of students are the priorities of the organization.
Q: How would you increase the communication between ASI and the students?
A: I lead by example. I will be involved in student activities, host open forums and simply walk around the campus engaging with students.
VICE PRESIDENT
Jonathon Bolin
Major: History and religious studies
Year: Senior
GPA: 3.5
Q: If elected, what do you hope to achieve as vice president?
A: Mainly, I just want the students in general to be represented. Not the 40 or 50 in ASI – the other 35,000 that attend CSULB. One of the things I want to do is take a pay cut of 30 percent from the fellowship that ASI officers get paid and put it back into student scholarships. That way, I could give $500 back to the university each month.
Q: How is your candidacy different from your competitors?
A: I’m different in the sense that I’ve never been in ASI. If I had been in ASI, I’d only see it through the ASI lens and not the rest of the campus. Me not being in ASI is a positive thing because I know what the general students want and can see it through their perspective.
Q: How are you qualified for the position?
A: I’m very involved on campus. I’m a SOAR adviser and was awarded SOAR adviser of the year. I’m a vice president on the Orientation Team and hold an officer position in HSA (History Students Association). I’m also a representative in CLASC (College of Liberal Arts Student Council), and I’m part of the leadership academy on campus.
Q: What would be your main focus during your term?
A: Reaching out to students who don’t know what ASI is. It’s an intimidating organization. Most students don’t know that they can even go to the Senate meeting and talk. I want to make it more hospitable to students and make it more comfortable.
Q: What do you want students to know about you?
A: I’m truly here to represent them. I’m not doing it for the money or to put it on my résumé
. I’m running for the students and for the people who aren’t involved. I’d really like them to get out and vote and make the right decision. I’m not telling students to vote for me – I’m telling them to vote for who they think is the best candidate.
Priscilla Covarrubias
Major: Business
Year: Sophomore
GPA: 3.3
Q: If elected, what do you hope to achieve as vice president?
A: I want to introduce new legislation. I want to create new ideas, put new ideas on the table, fresh ideas. Pretty much get our campus involved, bring more school spirit, help lower student expenses.
Q: How are you qualified for the position?
A: I don’t have the ASI background. I do have leadership experience in my past. I am motivated, I’m passionate, I want to do it. Nobody forced me to do it. I’m running, and it’s not an easy competition.
Q: What would be your main focus during your term?
A: I really would support legislation that would shift the commuter campus image, because I believe that our campus has the potential to be a traditional campus, not just a commuter campus. One of my other points is trying to cut expenses. I want to stretch the dollar, eliminate the programs we don’t use and make some programs optional for students. I propose to end our contract with OrgSync and bring a new program.
Q: How would you increase the communication between ASI and the students?
A: I think one of the biggest things that just came to my mind not so long ago is probably create an electronic suggestion box. All the executives should read these and take these into consideration because these are what the real students want, the voices of the 30,000 students here.
Q: What do you want students to know about you?
A: I just want students to really know that I want to represent them, not represent myself. I have my own personal values, but that doesn’t matter. When I’m in office, I will be the leader for them. I will be their voice. I really love this campus, and I want our campus to do the most it can, to be the best it can. It has the potential. We’re one of the top Cal States.
Diana Phan
Major: Political science
Year: Sophomore
GPA: 2.9
Q: If elected, what do you hope to achieve as vice president?
A: I want to bring more awareness to ASI. I also want to bring more advocacy to our students, because I know the budget cuts, but again that’s not the only thing. Our students should have a voice, and we should be able to be there for them. That’s what we’re here to do.
Q: How is your candidacy different from your competitors?
A: It’s different because I’m very dedicated to what I do. It’s great. I love it. I know a lot of people say, “Oh, why do you like being at three-hour meetings?” And I’m just like, “It’s what I do.” I love it. If you sit me in a room for five or six hours for a meeting, I’ll be fine. That’s how much I love it.
Q: What would be your main focus during your term?
A: My main focus would be the students, to advocate for students. But I really want to be the voice for them. That’s what I’ve been telling them like, “I’m here. I want to be the voice for you. Let me serve you.”
Q: In your own words, what is the purpose of the position and the important duties?
A: I want to be able to advocate for students with the help of the Senate. I don’t want to be like, “Oh, I overlooked you, what did you do?” I want to get involved with them, talk to them on a daily basis. I want to hear the voice of the students as well. Because being vice president isn’t just the head of the Senate. For me, I want to change that, I want to get out there more.
Q: What do you want students to know about you?
A: Being a leader isn’t always about just leading, it’s about being there for them to push them to their fullest potential. That’s something that is just very close to my heart. It’s something that I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to be the leader that people look up to. I want them to know that I’m just like them. I’m not just their leader, but I’m a student, just like you.
Jorge Soriano
Major: Chinese studies and theatre arts
Year: Junior
GPA: 3.9
Q: How are you qualified for the position?
A: I’ve been on the Board of Directors for two years now and I also currently chair two of their sub-committees. I know how to chair a committee. I know what it takes to run a meeting and to motivate the senators because I’ve been a senator for two years now, so I have that experience. I know how to speak to administration, how to speak to faculty members. When they were voting whether or not to cut the biology and the physical lab requirements, I went in support of that.
Q: What would be your main focus during your term?
A: I think my main focus would be just to make sure that the associated students is running as efficiently as possible. When we save more money, we have more money to spend on the students. Finally, announcing shared governance. We have an assistance-shared governance that the university is very proud of, and we should be. It’s strong, it’s very well put together, but it can always be better.
Q: How would you increase the communication between ASI and the students?
A: So I think one of the things we’re looking at is keeping office hours at the info center. I think if we have someone there, not only to do the basic info center work but to have someone who knows about the associated students services are available, and can give more in depth information to the students.
Q: What do you want students to know about you?
A: I want students to know about me that I have experience. You know, when you strip the vice presidency down to its bare minimum, I’ve pretty much done it. But also I’m running with someone who represents a new idea. So what I think I want students to know about me is that together, James and I, we represent a new approach.
Um … I love Spongebob.
TREASURER
Jordan Cattuzzo
Major: Nutrition dietetics
Year: Junior
GPA: 3.2
Q: If elected, what do you hope to achieve as treasurer?
A: I would really want to be out there and be able to be involved with the students, go to their clubs, go to their organizations as much as I can, and see what it is that they’re having problems with because I think you can’t really do what you need to do for the students if you don’t know what they’re going through. I want to be able to disperse that funding to the organizations, to the students, and help students
find the scholarships and funding they need. One of the things I really want to do is possibly use OrgSync to help students with scholarships and funding because I feel like they don’t know where to go to get funding.
Q: How is your candidacy different from your competitor?
A: I have more of a background of being a treasurer because I’m treasurer right now for the College of Health and Human Services Student Council, so I worked with Michael [Quibuyen]. I know how funding works to an extent within my college. I’ve been able to give grants to student organizations within my college, and I see how much it helps them. I would want to be able to do that with all the students and all the organizations throughout the university.
Q: Is there anything you feel that the current position holder is doing that you would like to change or continue?
A: And I would like to follow in his [Michael Quibuyen’s] footsteps of getting OrgSync off the ground especially since he just initiated putting grants through OrgSync and the fact that student clubs can apply for grants and everything through OrgSync so they don’t have to go through SLD and get some forms filled out then go up his office and get forms filled out so it’s making it easier for students to be able to get grants for their student organizations.
Q: What do you want students to know about you?
A: I do so much as it is with students and organizations for free that, even if this position wasn’t paid, I have enough background that it’s not necessarily a benefit for me to have this position. I just want to do it because I feel like I can better serve the students of this campus.
Jose Espeleta
Major: International business and finance
Year: Senior
GPA: 3.4
Q: If elected, what do you hope to achieve as treasurer?
A: I would like to, one, improve the gap of communication between the students and ASI. I know that every year, every candidate has said that, but as the treasurer, the most interaction he gets is with student orgs because they come to us for grants.
Q: How is your candidacy different from your competitor?
A: This isn’t something that I just thought about in the last second. This is something that I truly wanted to do.
Q: How are you qualified for the position?
A: I am a finance and international business major. I breathe finance and accounting, so, as a treasurer, I don’t have to start from the bottom learning what is a credit what is a debit, how do we read a balance sheet, how do we read our investments.
Q: Is there anything you feel that the current position holder is doing that you would like to change or continue?
A: One thing that I would like to continue that Michael [Quibuyen] has done greatly is moving our grant applications system to OrgSync. Slowly but surely we’ll win the race, so slowly but surely we’ll eventually get students to realize the benefits of OrgSync.
Q: In your own words, what is the purpose of the position and the important duties?
A: I believe that treasurer not only has the duty to manage the financials of Associated Students Inc., but his duties also lies in showing the students the necessary resources for them to succeed. I want to come in and let people know that I’m not just the treasurer of the organizations, but I’m the treasurer of everyone. I can give them the resources necessary for them to succeed in school.
Q: What do you want students to know about you?
A: I want students to know that I’m a person of my word, I’m a person that is reliable and that everything I said I’d do, I’ve accomplished. So, I just want people to know that what I say now, is what will be reflected should I get elected for next year.