Meet the ASUP Executive Board candidates

Krizchelle Magtoto & Anthony Ng 

Platform: 

1. Transparency & Purpose
2. Health & Well-being
3. Sustainability & Growth

"The first part of our platform will involve vlogging and posting on social media to communicate to our constituents and incorporate Executive Board and senator activities, as well as a Q&A portion where we will interview students and respond. The second part of our platform will aim to improve the mental health of the student body and well-being of the entire school. The third part of our platform will aim to increase the dialogue about sustainability on campus." -from "Vote Krizchelle and Anthony for Student Body President and Vice-President" Facebook page.

Brandon Rivera & Tsikata Apenyo

Platform: "Food and Parking"

“Long lines and lack of food options have been a problem on campus. We want to team up with Bon Appetit and find solutions to make food options better for students. We have been in meetings with Kirk Mustain and have received positive feedback with the idea of partnering with food carts around the Portland area and bringing them on campus.

We have been meeting with Kaleb Miller, the general manager of the Lyft Portland, to discuss the possibility of bringing Lyft on campus and creating special rates for UP students. As the campus expands, parking has become a strenuous process. We want to work diligently with administration, looking for areas on campus where we can add parking and possibly use shuttles to transport students to and from parking facilities.” -from “Brandon & Tsikata for Pres & VP” Facebook page.

Caitlin Varquez & Justin Low

Platform: "Mental health, diversity and inclusion, interconnection and political awareness" 

"With the upcoming Presidential Elections, we see more and more students wanting to increase their involvement in politics. We'd like to increase the political awareness of the student body. Not only in regard to the presidential campaign, but also UP's campus and Oregon's political atmosphere. We recognize that college is time to test our beliefs and formulate one’s political mind. We realize that the students of UP, with countless others in our generation, are the future, and we are the ones who will lead this country to a better place.

Over the past year, mental health has become a topic that affects us all. For those who have lost their lives because of this, we aim never to forget. We see that the topic of mental health is discussed and we’d like to facilitate those discussions even further. We want to reduce the stigma that surrounds mental health, improve the access to mental health care while recognizing all that the Health Center has done.

The University of Portland increases its diversity each year. While we would love to welcome and encourage all students, faculty and staff to be a part of UP’s culture; we also want to make sure that everyone feels accepted, respected and included on campus. Diversity provides a chance for culture and lifestyle exchanges as well as an educational opportunity. Therefore, we would like to foster an environment on campus where all people feel safe, welcomed and appreciated in regard to the many identities and backgrounds they represent. The University of Portland is a community for all, and we will ensure that that is upheld and known to everyone." -Varquez

Communications Director:

Andrew Simon

Platform: 

"First, I will always be transparent. There should be no decision made within ASUP that isn't easily-accessible public knowledge. The best results will come from honesty and transparency on all fronts, and I will bring that to ASUP without hesitation.

The essential role of communications director is to inform the campus about what ASUP does. Therefore, my second step will be to listen and learn what the most effective way to communicate with the student body is. UP's student government should fit a mold that is best-suited for providing its students with information about what we are doing to improve campus life.

This ties in well to the third piece of my platform: I would like the student body's help to create and execute my job. I want this position to be one made by you, for you. I would like to start a dialogue in order to discuss what is important for UP students and how I can best bring about the change you want to see. For the communications director to be a beneficial addition to the ASUP body, it needs to cater to the student body's needs — please don't hesitate to let me know what those are!" -Simon

Brett Wadsack

Platform: "Response, Awareness, Collaboration, External Focus"

"I had the privilege of serving as an ASUP senator for the 2015-2016 academic year, acting as an active participant for the monumental period of change the organization underwent. As such, I feel called to help usher in ASUP’s new phase of operations and growth. With my prior knowledge of ASUP’s inner workings, I believe I can make this transition as smooth and as positive as the students of University of Portland demand.

To achieve these goals, I must first be upfront and clear of what I want to get out of the position of communications director with those I am going to work with and reach out to. I must make myself as available as possible to the student body by encouraging all forms of communication (in-person, email, calls, texts, social media responses, written requests, etc.). I must be willing to experiment with the best methods for getting information out to the student body. I must become even more comfortable with myself than I already am, in reaching out in-person to all those needing their voices heard. As such, no concern of my fellow students of the University of Portland is either too big or too small to be addressed and solved by this new phase of ASUP. So let’s keep UP the weird and unique place it is to learn, connect and live with equal-minded individuals!" -Wadsack

Stephanie Tucker

Platform: "Promotion, Leadership and Positivity"

“My goals are for all students to feel heard, to promote ASUP activities and events, provide leadership, action and understanding to the student body. I hope to promote and provide positivity throughout the UP campus to make it better than it already is!”

Finance Director:

Angela Hudson

Platform: "Let Me Help You Spend your Money"

"My platform for this position is to 'Let Me Help You Spend your Money.' What I mean by this is I want to help club and ASUP organization leaders really understand the budgeting and spending process. I feel like there can be a lot of confusion about these processes and I want to improve that. The more money that these organizations spend, the happier I'll be. I also intend to improve communication and relationships between the finance director and the club leaders, make the budgeting process more efficient and better advertise ASUP Financial Management Board positions on campus. " -Hudson

Campus Program Board Director:

Jacque Nelson

Platform: Collaboration, education, innovation

“Collaboration: I want to continue to encourage CPB to collaborate with other organizations on campus, and support the  student body in return for their support of us. This means sitting down with other student leaders and brainstorming ways in which CPB can support all student causes.

Education: CPB is a campus organization that helps cultivate leaders and programmers of the years to come, and to support this I'd like to implement more leadership skills development from within. Giving students the resources and tools they need to continue to create memories and traditions on campus is where it all starts.

Innovation: While CPB's main purpose on campus is to program events and traditions, there is always opportunity to innovate and grow with each year. Encouraging creativity in every aspect of the programming process is essential when considering how we keep these traditions alive — CPB should strive to change alongside the student body.” - taken from “Vote Jacque Nelson for CPB Director” Facebook page.

Rachel Rippetoe is a reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at rippetoe18@up.edu.