The Associated Students Inc. elections have begun, and the number of executive candidates running is noticeably greater than that of previous years.
This year, five candidates are running for president, four are running for vice president and two for treasurer.
Only two candidates ran for each position in 2011, while in 2010, two ran for vice president and treasurer and only one ran for president.
“Student government varies each year,” said Kim Tabori, assistant director of student involvement for ASI. “There’s not really a true answer for [it].”
The number of candidates running shocked some students.
“I was super surprised,” Katrina Pilsecker, a CSULB senior, said. “I think it’s going to be harder to win and to decide between them.”
Pilsecker said this year’s number of candidates is more reminiscent of her freshman year in 2008-09, when four candidates ran for president, three for vice president and three for treasurer.
From 2007 to 2009, four candidates ran for president each year, but the number dropped in 2010. Two candidates ran for vice president and treasurer on average from 2007 to 2010.
ASI has not had so many vice president candidates run for more than five years.
“This is an election year, so maybe people are inclined to run this year,” Tabori said.
The requirements to run for any position in ASI are the same, according to Tabori.
Despite some students’ surprise about this year’s candidates, others thought the number was reasonable.
“It’s a little high, but I don’t think it’s surprising for our student population in comparison to our number of students,” transfer student Jackie McCann said.