On March 21 The State Press held a Q&A with the Undergraduate Student Government Tempe executive ticket for next year to discuss its predominant platforms, such as increased student engagement and transparency.
Allison Sorgeloos, a junior education major is running for USGT president. On her ticket are vice president of policy candidate John Gimenez, asophomore political science major, and vice president of services candidate Logan Miller, a sustainability sophomore.
What makes your ticket unique?
Sorgeloos: We are coming from different places of study, different leadership experiences.
Gimenez: I grew up on government milk and cheese, and now I'm here (at ASU) on the Pell Grant. The representation of different socioeconomic backgrounds matter.
What are the main student issues you feel need to be addressed?
Gimenez: Because we're such a large campus, one of the biggest initiatives is to make sure more students are involved in student government. The fact that we are running unopposed now makes it a mandate to get students engaged within student government.
Sorgeloos: Mental health is an extremely important issue on campus. All of the universities and colleges around the country are struggling with students who work full-time, come from different background of low socioeconomic status.
Miller: We are really trying to show students what our dollars are really going towards — what does this fund and how does it fund it. I think that's something that really needs to be addressed.
What is one issue you feel students misunderstand or are largely unaware of?
Sorgeloos: Tuition is often times expensive and we want to make sure you know where your money is going and that it's being used for you. Something that I think is our responsibility as a student government is to help bridge the gap between ASU administration and students.
Miller: Regarding the fees, I think the U of A does this already, where they have a page listing their fees and shows what the fees pay for on campus. The (UA) students can go to that website and see that, where as here (ASU) that is a lot more difficult.
What role do you see your ticket having in outreach to the state and federal government?
Gimenez: To begin, I think it's educating the student body on bills that affect them in any way. The second part is ensuring that students learn how to act and contact their local representatives. Student often forget in the hustle and bustle of college life whom to contact (with concerns).
Sorgeloos: For example, there is a bill in the state legislature right now that is involving weapons on campus. That is something we've had the opportunity to learn about through USG, but it's also something we hope to educate our constituents about.
What is one issue you feel students misunderstand or are largely unaware of?
Miller: Unfortunately, there are a lot of resources on campus that are underutilized because they are not known. The U-Pass, which is a discounted pass for students to use in the metro buses and light rail, costs about $100. It's an underutilized resource, and also something that we can improve.
Why do you think you'll make a good leader?
Gimenez: A leader is someone doesn't manage people to action, but rather leads people to action.
Miller: I think leaders should act, in fact, more as facilitators and enable others to do their best.
Sorgeloos: The kind of leadership that I would like to embody and that I hope the future of USG embodies is the idea of serviceship. We are in very unique and special positions of power and we should use that responsibility to work alongside our students to support an uplift them.
Reach the reporters at cmgiulia@asu.edu and aerodr11@asu.edu or follow @tinamaria_4 and @armanigrace.
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