The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Issue date: 3/22/07 Section: News

Luke Ragelan, the current ASCSU director of legislative affairs asks challenging questions to the candidates for next years ASCSU president and vice president positions. The candidates from left to right are Sean Abbey for vice presidentl, Jake Blumberg for president, Katie Gleeson for president, and Trevor Trout for vice president.

ASCSU presidential and vice presidential candidates presented their platforms and answered student questions on the plaza Wednesday.

Presidential candidate Katie Gleeson, a senior history major, and vice presidential hopeful Trevor Trout, a junior management major, unfurled a platform focusing on academics and improvements such as tax-free textbooks and more efficient class registration.

Gleeson and Trout also proposed improvements for Ram Ride, parking and campus safety.

"It's important to say you are proud to be a Ram and that your degree is from CSU," Gleeson said.

Presidential contender Jake Blumberg, a senior technical journalism and political science major and former Collegian staff member, and his running mate Sean Abbey, a junior finance major, promised increased representation from ASCSU for the average student and a higher level of involvement with the student body.

"We need a diverse voice and diverse action," Blumberg said.

Positions within ASCSU are open to all students and Blumberg and Abbey said they want to create a diverse and motivated cabinet that will better represent the student body.

Blumberg and Abbey also discussed improvements for parking and campus safety as well as involvement with student organizations.

The contenders debated in front of a crowd of more than 50 students and fielded audience questions afterward.

"I think Katie has a lot of fresh ideas," said Courtney Van Evera, a sophomore political science major and assistant director of student services at ASCSU. "She will inflate the credibility of your degree from CSU."

A quality education and strong degree were important issues for some in attendance.

"I want to get out of here with a degree that means something," said Dakota Cervenka, a junior animal science and agricultural business major.

Brett Dobinsky, a senior civil engineering major, was concerned about ASCSU's reach to the average student.

"We need to get new people into office," Dobinsky said. "It (ASCSU) doesn't do a good job of getting out to the average student."

Cervenka agreed.

"No matter who gets president or vice president they really need to involve themselves with the average student," he said.

The candidates will continue to campaign in the coming weeks and students can vote on RamWeb on April 2-4.



Staff writer Emily Polak can be reached at news@collegian.com.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools