Learn more about Frank Smith III’s year of presidential experience, ideas to spread knowledge of USGD and new ticket.
Walter Cronkite School Sen. Alexis Kramer said she is running for president of the Downtown campus because Undergraduate Student Government Downtown has lacked leadership this year and the organization is failing students.
“I’ve been frustrated that the current student government is not doing what it’s supposed to,” Kramer said. “I’m running to be the change I’ve wanted to see all year.”
If elected, next year will be the journalism sophomore’s third with student government at ASU.
Kramer said her experience would be valuable as president because it has taught her “how to run a student government properly.”
Kramer became involved with USGD as an intern and she said she stayed passionate about the organization because she said it helped grow her love for ASU.
Kramer said the difference between her ticket and Frank Smith III’s ticket is the way each looks at the job.
“There’s a job there to do right now, not just in the long run on a resume,” Kramer said. “That’s a difference I’ve seen since the beginning of the year.”
Kramer’s goals for student government if she is elected include measures that would help unify student organizations, increase transparency and improve student life on campus.
Kramer noted that this year USGD started live streaming during Senate meetings, increasing the organization’s transparency in one way. But she said it isn’t enough.
“Live streaming is good, but we need to do more,” Kramer said.
Kramer and both of her vice presidential candidates said one priority for helping student organizations will be to find a system to replace OrgSync, which is currently used to keep students connected with their organizations.
Vice President of Services candidate Windsor Smith has been involved with several student organizations during her time at ASU.
She is involved with planning social events for Barrett Leadership and Service Team – Downtown. Smith is also involved with Honors Devils, an organization that provides information about Barrett, the Honors College to current and future ASU students. She is a member of the ASU shooting team.
Smith said her involvement in student organizations has given her an understanding of what the organizations are looking for in a vice president of services.
Some of Smith’s other goals include getting students involved in community service and helping them connect with their student government.
“I’d like people to understand how (student government) works and how they can get involved,” Smith said. “We want students to know they can have input.”
Smith said they want to use the hashtag ‘#WTFASU,’ which stands for “what to fix ASU,” as an additional form of communication between student government and the student body about what students want.
Ryan Boyd, who is running for vice president of policy, is a sophomore studying parks and recreation management.
Boyd said he wants to help students connect with student organizations they might be interested in joining. Boyd said the Kramer administration would aim to create an interest quiz students could take that would provide them with student organizations that match with their interests.
Boyd said he is running because there are things in USGD that he wants to change.
“I saw things going wrong and wanted to fix it and provide a different choice,” Boyd said. “I sat through almost every Senate meeting and didn’t like the things I was seeing. I want to see a lot more transparency and more checks and balances.”
Contact the reporter at alabril@asu.edu
