Alex Kaplan has removed himself from the Associated Students Inc. presidential race. Sarah Storelli will now run unopposed for the top spot in Cal Poly’s student government.
Kaplan, who had no prior experience in ASI, let race officials know Wednesday that he would not remain in the race.
After a profile of Kaplan ran in the Mustang Daily on Tuesday, the story got more than one hundred Web comments, almost all of which were critical of Kaplan and his platform.
Storelli said she was only half-shocked that Kapalan dropped out of the race.
“Some people were not taking his campaign as seriously as he would have liked,” she said.
Despite the fact that hers will be the only name on the ballot, Storelli says she will still try to reach out to students.
“I am a thousand percent planning on actively campaigning still,” she said. “I’m still acting like I’m running against the best possible opponent.”
A debate between the two candidates was scheduled for the University Union hour, but will now be turned into a discussion between Storelli and students, said Kelsey Rice, chair of the elections committee.
“The purpose of the debates is for students to engage with candidates in order to get to know them better,” Rice said. “Just because there is only one candidate doesn’t mean that the purpose has changed.”
Rice said she was not aware of any other ASI presidential race when a candidate ran unopposed.
Storelli said she expects voter turnout to remain high because of the ASI Board of Directors election and because of the possibility of a write-in candidate.
She also said she has already talked to several dozen organizations on campus and expects her support to be substantial, despite the lack of competition.
Storelli’s platform is focused on safety, diversity, community relations, legislative affairs and sustainability.
While there is a possibility that she could be beaten by a write-in candidate, Storelli said she’s not planning on losing.
When contacted by the Mustang Daily, Alex Kaplan declined to comment.
the question remains: is the asi presidential race more or less of a joke, now that kaplan has withdrawn?
Well played lol
Less.. It is definitely less of a joke without him.
I’m just glad he stuck around long enough to be branded for the remainder of his career here (that’s a stretch).
This story has absolutely made my week. 😀
NOOOOOO!!!!!!! Looks like we’re gonna be wearing tanks in the gym now 🙁
If he can’t even win an ASI election how is he going to be a marine?
You’re an idiot if you think those two things are similar.
do you know how muscular he is?? of course he can be a navy seal…
also he is tan
VOTE KENNY TANG 4 PREZ WRITE-IN!!!
Good. Maybe now Mustang Daily can start being more professional and write serious articles instead of publishing all this ASI drama nonsense that nobody cares about. Storelli will win either way, even if there is a write in candidate, which is really unlikely. As for the board of directors = nobody cares.
Why are you ragging on Mustang Daily for reporting the truth about a potential candidate. People do care about that “ASI drama.” Without that article a lot of people would have no idea how amazingly under-qualified this goon is. As a result of that article this oaf has dropped out of the race.
I can’t believe my broseph would totally punk out like that. Bro-code states that I always stand behind him… even when doing the elephant walk. This is such a sad day for bro-balization. I might as well put away my bro-tractor and kill this raging broner I got going.
In other news, the Muscle Milk is looking like a strong contender.
You know, I think this proves that there’s something wrong with the ASI election process. I’ve been told that you need ~400+ signatures to get on the ballot. Given the lack of a paper ballot and the ASI’s switch to an instant runoff system, this doesn’t make too much sense. There’s nothing wrong with having around 5-6 candidates running under this circumstance. Reducing the number of signatures would allow more and possibly better candidates to run, would prevent any plausible victory by default situation.
This process actually makes complete sense, and isn’t uncommon. It’s used so that there are 500 people that can attest to this person’s character, and can confirm he would be a legitimate candidate.
If there’s any fault to be put on anyone here, it would be on those people that signed that petition to run. Maybe someone should have inquired about his platform before signing on…
Thank god…I’m no longer ashamed to attend this school.
I’m glad that students at Poly voiced their opinion on this website, and expressed their anger with a person who clearly had the brains of an over-hormoned, under educated, irresponsible, and attention seeking whore.
I still have faith that the students at Poly can come together and stop whats wrong with this world: injustice, inequality, racism, sexual harrasment…and Alex Kaplan.
hahahahaha yes!!!!
What a joke! I can’t believe he didn’t even bother to finish the campaign. I’m glad he was serious about running…
It’d be rather unfortunate if Storelli ran unopposed next week. I don’t know either personally, but I can agree that the profile articles by Jessica Barba portrayed Kaplan as a frat d-bag who can only hope for the votes of those that go to the gym on the daily, and Storelli as a politician’s little girl who takes herself too seriously and would be an annoying person to know because of the large stick hanging out of her butt. I would have voted for Kaplan, because he had a realistic outlook on the power of an ASI president. In the end, does it matter if anything gets accomplished under during an ASI term? Judging by what has ostensibly been accomplished by Kelly Griggs, NO. ASI, the supposed voice of the students on campus, appears to be completely powerless in regards to any campus policies. Is it ridiculous that tank tops are BANNED in the gym? yes, completely. Is it more ridiculous that the ASI president supposedly has no power to nullify that ridiculous rule? yes.
Storelli makes me want to run as a write-in.
While I don’t think anyone deserves to publicly ridiculed and embarrassed like he was, I think it is more disgraceful of him to tarnish the image of ASI so poorly. A lot of people look to ASI for guidance and help, and his campaign and the associated affairs surrounding it really put a bad image on ASI. We need more people running who are actually passionate about having this position. As a student, this whole situation is sad to see.
Yes Kaplan’s campaign was a joke, but Storelli comes off as fake to me. Shes assuming the role of a typical politician by trying to be involved in everything just to stick it on her resume. Don’t just vote for her because shes the only one left!
“Shes assuming the role of a typical politician by trying to be involved in everything just to stick it on her resume.”
As if being ASI president is worth anything else?
really sucks were stuck with storelli now
Due to the University rules and regulations ASI inherently lacks power to change things that actually matter. In the end it simply becomes a popularity contest and ultimately as one of the anonymous poster said something to put on a resume.
On a side note I know many club officers don’t hold ASI in a good light. Their dealings have always been less than satisfactory. Unfortunately, the trend has been down hill and I don’t think anyone elected cares to or has the power to fix those issues.
Now if Kaplan would just transfer somewhere else, he’d REALLY be making a contribution to Cal Poly. Good riddance. Sarah Storelli will make an excellent President. Unlike those who have an opinion of Storelli but admit they don’t know her, I DO know her and know that she’s NOT a “fake” or somebody who’s involved in activites just to “stick it on her resume.” She’s a good student (no resume padding needed) who’s been active with ASI since she’s been here at Cal Poly because she LIKES student government and has a lot to contribute. And as for ‘Froshie’s’ post: What the hell are you confabulating about? Your remarks make no sense at all…”a politician’s little girl?”… ” a large stick hanging out of her butt”? You poor dumb schmuck.
Because he never misses one of his required tanning sessions…
Right on Brotherrrr
Jay, you are correct. There is far more to being ASI president than polishing one’s resume.
We shouldn’t forget that the chief responsibility is coming up with new and interesting ways to waste money that is extracted from students without their consent. (Is this just practice for being a taxpayer in the real world?) Outside of the rec center, I can think of nothing ASI does that any significant portion of the school body participates in.
Storelli, I challenge you to come up with a more wasteful expenditure than the UU plaza renovation. It might be difficult, but I’m confident you’re up for the task.
This really shows how little you know about ASI. I’ve never been a part of the organization, or would even consider it nonetheless, but at least know how to do my RESEARCH before I decide to complain on an issue…
It’s quite amusing to me how everyone considers ASI to be a “one man’s job” that practically sits on the shoulders of the ASI President.
As required by Title 5 and the CA Ed Code, the Board of Directors is the governing body of ASI, which is true in this sense, too. The ASI Board of Directors, is in fact, the group that determines referenda, approving budgetary procedures, the annual ASI budget itself, etc.
ASI Student Government is actually made up of 40+ members; all of which have equal impact on the plans and actions of the organization.
The ASI President is to act as the liaison between the community, administration, and the state. Their role literally has nearly NOTHING to do with campus projects and the spending of student fees.
Looking into the facts a little more extensively would help you out… no?
And for the record, there has NEVER been a fee used for renovation that has not been called to a vote by the student population. I wouldn’t exactly then call that “without their consent”.
Do your research, and maybe then you’ll stop looking like a dumbass.
Bold strategy Cotton, lets see how it pays of for him.
Not only is this guy a loser, he is a pussy.
I just want to know how many of you actually know alex. I mean there is a lot of people who are ripping him apart. I just would like to know if they have any basis for their arguments other than the article which I honestly felt was unfair to him. I know him personally and while I won’t say he is the perfect candidate, I think that there is a ton of unwarranted slander about him.
He’s definitely not the hideous caricature the MD and his detractors paint him to be.
meh, disagree. know the guy well, and actually thought the mustang daily made him look like a gem.
I know for a fact he was fired from Del Monte foods this past summer and then proceeded to leave his current living situation owing utilities to his room mates. Total 180$. granted this is nothing compared to the money he stole from his frat brothers. Its character… he has none.
The Coalition for the Restoration of Alex Kaplan in the Cal Poly Community (or CRAKCPC, for short) is a grassroots movement which began in late April 2010. We were forced to watch as Cal Poly’s favorite son, Alex Kaplan, fell victim to the twisted gaze of mainstream media (MSM). Cal Poly’s student-run newspaper, The Mustang Daily, coordinated a deliberate smear campaign against Kaplan from the very onset of his campaign. After over a thousand Mustang Daily partisans and Storelli brown shirts had taken to publicly mocking this great man, the criticism became too much to bear. His campaign was in ruin, and his reputation lay wretched in its wake. He had no choice but to concede.
Now, we the members of CRAKCPC are resolved to see the restoration of a tragic hero in his darkest hour.
We demand:
1. The immediate public apology of the entire staff of the Mustang Daily, and its subsequent resignation. The corruption’s roots run deep; every student involved in the creation of those fateful newspaper articles is culpable for these heinous crimes, from lowly photographer Patrick Fina to disgraced Editor-in-Chief Emilie Egger, whose name is as alliterative as she is illiterate.
2. The concession of Sarah Storelli from the ASI Presidential race. We will not stand for the noxious, white supremacist vitriol which fuels her campaign, nor will we let her role as co-conspirator in the plot against Alex Kaplan go unpunished. Once she has publicly announced her resignation, she must surrender herself to Judicial Affairs, where she will be placed at the mercy of the same corrupt bureaucracy which once sought to put her in power.
3. The restoration of Alex Kaplan’s Presidential campaign, as well as the guaranteed inclusion of his name on the election ballot. To permit this farcical trope of Democracy to continue unchecked would be a crime of the same magnitude and nature as those already perpetrated against him.
4. The seizure and subsequent redistribution of Sarah Storelli’s hoard of campaign wealth among the students of Cal Poly, as penance for her crimes. In addition, Storelli’s red-shirted gestapo will be made to submit (by force, if necessary) their campaign uniforms to a pyre; its cleansing fire will purge our proud university of the taint of her actions.
5. The tearing down of the exterior walls of the University Union. No longer will Kelly Griggs and her ASI junta be permitted to coordinate and execute their nefarious machinations protected by the cloister of an urban fortress. The reign of the clandestine regime of ASI’s shadow government is coming to a close. With Alex Kaplan, an era of progress and radical transparency will be ushered in, and “better communication and shit” along with it.
We stand at the precipice of a moment of great change, and we do so in solidarity with a greater man. If our demands are not met promptly and in full, there will be a reckoning the likes of which our campus has never witnessed. The Mustang Daily will have its darkest secrets brought to light, and in the process it will fall further from grace, to the darkest depths of the journalistic abyss. The ensuing controversy will no doubt cause the Journalism Department to be denied its request for reaccreditation. Closet Alex Kaplan supporters will rise, and the University Union will run red with the cast-down shirts of Storelli’s secret police.
Alex Kaplan has endured character assassination, and worse. Now, let us effect his restoration and see justice brought unto those who once conspired against him.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118412298178025
restorealexkaplan.blogspot.com
lol is this guy forrr realzee