Next Tuesday and Wednesday students will pick either journalism freshman Andres Cano or psychology junior Christian Vasquez to be the Downtown campus’ next president.
Cano, a freshman senator appointed last semester, said he decided to run after hearing all of the unmet needs of Downtown campus student organizations.
“There is a gap in student government right now,” he said. “We need an effective student government that is actively fighting on behalf of the students.”
Vasquez, the current ASASUD director of parliamentary procedures, said he decided to run for president of the Downtown campus because it still has room to grow after just one year with an elected student government.
“If you’re not growing, you’re dying,” said Vasquez, a nonprofit leadership and management minor. “We have the leadership necessary, I have the experience necessary to effectively lead this campus and help the students.”
Cano, who voted twice against the facilities fee this year, said he would work to keep the Downtown campus affordable by also holding a voter registration drive if elected.
“We have to identify the ways to cap the cost of attendance at ASU,” he said.
Cano, who’s platform is Progress, Advocacy, Connection, also said his administration will work to increase the Maroon and Gold Dollar options downtown similarly to how current President Tania Mendes said she would with Aramark to allow downtown eateries a trial period with the M&G system.
“We don’t think that it’s fair when students are only able to swipe their M&G card in the Taylor Place cafeteria,” he said. “We need to make sure that (Aramark is) committed to providing a diverse variety of dining options for downtown students.”
Under a platform of Student Empowerment/Students First, Vasquez said his administration would provide visibility, transparency and accessibility to students.
“We want to make sure that we’re visible on our campus,” said Vasquez, who has announced he will not be attending the Downtown Devil’s Presidential Debate tonight despite originally accepting an invitation. “We want to make sure every student knows exactly where their dollars are going … (and) making sure we as a student government – as senators, as the executive board – are accessible to our students.”
Vasquez said he will hold voter registration drives next semester on the Downtown campus to ensure students are represented at the State Capitol.
“One way students can use their voice is through their vote,” he said. “If students don’t vote, elected officials don’t listen to students and that cycle keeps going and going, and we want to make sure that that cycle stops.”
Vasquez’s candidate for vice president is journalism freshman Jessica Abercrombie, who said she believes her ticket offers the leadership necessary for a campus undergoing so much growth.
“This campus is growing; the University is growing; the student body down here is growing and I want to be a part of that,” she said. “We’re immersed in this urban atmosphere, and we’re making our own footprint down here as the Downtown campus.”
Journalism freshman Vaughn Hillyard is running as Cano’s vice president and said he decided to run after living downtown for a year and realizing how much potential the campus has.
“I don’t think that this campus is being used in the great way that it could,” he said. “It’s an exciting time for downtown (Phoenix), so I think that this campus should really play an integral part in the community.”
Vasquez said he and Abercrombie would host fairs to bring businesses and students together and build the community at the Downtown campus.
“Since we do literally have the Phoenix community here, we think it’s important to partner with them … and really have students experience the collegiate experience more than just academically,” Abercrombie said.
Currently a senator for the Walter Cronkite School, Abercrombie said, as vice president, she would make sure Senate meetings run smoothly and make sure senators do what they’re supposed to do.
“I think the students deserve the best leader possible, and I think that’s me as vice president and Christian (Vasquez) as president,” she said.
Vaughn, who was appointed this month as senator for Barrett, the Honors College, said his main focus, as vice president will be on building a stronger relationship between the downtown Phoenix community and the Downtown campus. He said he plans to build a Web site that would inform students about nearby businesses and events.
Students “would want to give back (to businesses in the downtown Phoenix area),” Hillyard said. “A lot of the time the hard part is we don’t know truly what is right over on Second Street because nobody’s willing to walk across the street.”
Hillyard said students should vote for him and Cano because they are very passionate about the Downtown campus.
“We live here, we take our classes here and we plan on spending the next three years here,” he said. “I guess you could say, ‘Close to home’ for us because this is our home.”
Contact the reporter at salvador.rodriguez@asu.edu
