Cal Poly students elect next year’s ASI Board of Directors. See the results

Olivia Short is an environmental management and protection junior and this year’s ASI Secretary of Health and Wellbeing. Short has already served one term on the CAFES Board of Directors. Short’s priorities include integrating online therapy, through websites like TimelyCare, to address what she calls San Luis Obispo’s “healthcare desert.” Additionally, Short aims to ensure that engineering-heavy majors in CAFES, such as BioResource and Agricultural Engineering students, are not affected by the semester conversion.

“I feel very comfortable with the ASI corporate side, making sure we still have enough money to run our program…while still advocating for students,” Short said.

Hanna Birdsong is an agricultural business major. She was not present at media day.

Liz Quintero is an agricultural communications freshman, an ambassador for the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences and a member of Latinos in Agriculture. Quintero, along with Aguiar and Hanna Birdsong, who wasn’t available for comment at Media Day, is running under the “Sprouting for CAFES” campaign. Quintero focuses on protecting agricultural lands for “Learn by Doing” opportunities and serving as a communicative link for both San Luis Obispo and Solano students during the Maritime integration and semester conversion.

“[Ally, Hannah, and I] serve as CAFES ambassadors, and we’re able to help lead tours and show the future Mustangs around our college and show them what Cal Poly is all about,” Quintero said. “I think those experiences, those first-time experiences with students and people living that college experience is what allows us to gain information and then again turn around and serve as advocates.”

Alli Aguiar is an agricultural communications freshman with experience as president of her Future Farmers of America chapter. Aguiar, who is running under the slogan “Sprouting for CAFES.” Aguiar advocates for better maintenance of the aging Alan A. Erhart Agriculture (Building 10) building. Aguiar also proposes selling Cal Poly-made products in dining halls, like Cal Poly Creamery’s ice cream and the Food Science and Nutrition Department’s student-made chocolates, so that students can support Cal Poly-made food using their dining dollars.

“I think coming up with ideas that are reasonable for all parties involved, but do make tangible change, where students actually are feeling the change in their daily lives. That’s the best way to balance what students want but also make it so that the corporate partners can actually agree to it,” Aguiar said.

Samantha Katz, a city and regional sophomore, decided to run for CAED representative because she noticed a disconnect between CAED and ASI. 

“I was hoping as a member of the board of directors I could serve as a line of communication for our students to be able to ask for things they need,” Katz said. 

Katz wants to focus on better supporting CAED students through providing lockers for them to store studio supplies, improvements on balancing CAED workload and controlling the temperature in studio labs. 

Katz noted that one of the unique things about CAED is the amount of time they spend in labs and on niche projects.  

“I think it’s really important to recognize CAED’s unique courseload that makes it difficult for students to properly dedicate time to classes that aren’t directly related to their major,” she said. “I think it is important we open up those paths of communicate so they can be like “hey we’re struggling.””

Katz added that she believes it is most important for CAED students to feel like they can access and speak with their representative in an accessible way. 

“I think just making sure that not only to our own departments, but to everyone in CAED that we’re seen as equals and as someone they can come to talk to about anything,” she said.

Stone Ramage, a architectural engineering sophomore, currently serves as a CAED representative on the ASI board of directors. Currently, he is working on legislation that works to document and measure the changes Cal Poly is going through, such as semester conversion and integrating Cal Poly Maritime, in order to control the unexpected consequences of these decisions for students.

“I think a lot of issues always boil down, at some point, just to communication,” Ramage said. “So just ensuring that is  the highest priority in anything that we do would be super important for me,”

 If elected for his next term, he wants to focus on expanding food resources and transportation services for students who are on campus late into the evening. 

Ramage added he wants to explore creative and new ways to solve and address students issues and communicate with. He plans to further work with CAED professors and students to hear their voices on what they need from ASI.

Benjamin Muro, a city and regional regional planning freshman, wants to create change through addressing problems he heard around campus. His main issues to focus on are increasing the dining hours on campus and better connecting CAED clubs to ASI.

“You’re just an advocate for the student body, you’re not an individual trying to do something. You’re representing a plethora of people,” Muro said. 

If elected, Muro wants to first tackle the biking infrastructure at Cal Poly. He wants to repaint or add bike lanes and find more for students to get around on their bike safely.

“A lot of the time we see that [bikers] are either right next to cars or right next to pedestrians, which makes it unsafe for everyone, in a sense,” Muro said.

Muro noted he plans to utilize the small class sizes and close-knit CAED community will help him communicate with professors and students as an ASI board candidate.

Nimisha Thakur, a software engineering sophomore, described the class requirements for her and her fellow engineering students as “difficult.” 

“Engineers only have a set number of classes that they can take per quarter in semester, and if they are unable to get those classes, then it becomes really difficult to complete that set degree on time.”

She wants to simplify it by using her previous experiences to bring student voices to President Armstrong. Thakur is a member of the Society of Women Engineers, Theta Tau (a co-ed engineering fraternity) and the ASI Board of Directors. She believes this gives her the necessary knowledge of both ASI and the College of Engineers to serve effectively.

“I think it’s really important to bring back candidates who have experience in the boardroom and know how to help younger candidates who are going to eventually fill those positions,” said Thakur.

Thakur pledges to continue showing up prepared for meetings in order to act on the voices of her fellow engineers.

Jack Flath, a electrical engineering freshman, is focused on sharing upperclassmen’s knowledge with underclassmen, whom he sees as increasingly challenged. 

“I think things like mentorship should be available within the college of engineering,” said Flath. “I’ve had friends literally cry their eyes out to me about failing calc and physic and they’re like ‘I don’t know what to do!’” 

He believes upperclassman mentorship programs can help his fellow engineering students. On top of managing their workload, he hopes this can help them register for classes, attend careers fairs and find professional opportunities. 

“I was the first in my family to go away to college,” said Flath. “My family never dealt with this stuff, and I had to figure it out from people in my fraternity who are older than me.”

If elected, Flath would use his experience in his engineering fraternity, Sigma Phi Delta, and on the ASI executive staff to find underclassmen their mentors.

Naomi Jung is an electrical engineering major. She was not present at media day.

Anahi Ramos, a mechanical engineering freshman, has two priorities: creating more hands-on experiences for underclassmen and furthering Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Ramos wants to create more hands-on learning experiences for underclassmen because she feels those are lacking in her first year here. 

“I’ve never really had experiences with labs. So, I feel like that’s an experience that every first year has gone through in the college of engineering,” said Ramos.

She also wants to further DEI initiatives because she believes students from differing backgrounds can improve the college.

“Different perspectives and experiences are incredibly important to innovation in general,” said Ramos.

To accomplish these goals, Ramos wants to bridge gaps among multicultural groups on campus, such as the Multicultural Engineering Program and the Equal Opportunity Program, and the College of Engineering. That way, more voices can be heard, and more hands-on work opportunities can be shared.

Mental health is the first priority for Diego Pardo, an electrical engineering freshman who serves on the Inner Housing Council and has an associate’s degree.

“What I’ve seen as an engineering student is that there’s a lot of students dealing with things and stress they don’t want to talk about,” said Pardo.

Pardo wants to improve engineering students’ mental health by providing counseling and alleviating challenges.

Pardo sees class registration as the biggest challenge for him and his fellow students. Pardo has gone to the Mustang Success Center, but he didn’t feel it helped enough. So, he wants to reform it to better guide engineering students.

“I have a lot of challenges with getting into classes because I meet certain prerequisites that other freshmen don’t. But when I get advised by Mustang Success Center, it doesn’t help,” said Pardo.

Hudson Kammerer, a political science junior, currently serves as one of the CLA representatives. He wants to improve CLA opportunities, specifically at the job fair, administrative transparency for students and providing students resources to fulfill their basic needs. 

“There are a lot of decisions that have been made and are going to be made.  For instance, the installation of surveillance cameras on campus, transition from quarter to semesters and even a transition to a year round system,” Kammerer said. “And, I want to ensure CLA students have a seat at the table.”

Kammerer believes most issues on campus stem from a lack of communication between Cal Poly and the student body. Currently, he is writing a resolution which proposes a transparency criteria that campuses must follow when they make decisions that affect Cal Poly students and take in student input. This resolution covers student issues like housing costs, adding infrastructure and installation of data collecting devices. 

Kammerer noted that he felt the negative student reaction to flock cameras being used on campus could have been avoided if the implementation was better communicated. 

“I think a lot of the stress and outrage from the situation probably could have been avoided if there was actual communication and an actual rule to follow of” “this is when you need to tell students,” “you need to be open to feedback for students,”” he said.

Some of the criteria would include Cal Poly notifying students of construction 30 days before it starts and the school being upfront with contractors they are working with.

Addison Mae Godfrey, a political science freshman, decided she wanted to run for CLA representative so she could be a facilitator between students and staff. 

“Sometimes it can be really difficult to know where to start in terms of voicing your opinion or what can be done,” Godfrey said. “I think that if I were elected, I would use the position to try to represent the student bodies.”

Godfrey’s main issues are focusing on improving basic facilities through better water sanitation and light maintenance and providing more opportunities for CLA students such as researching positions and expanding study abroad options. If elected, Godfrey wants to focus on conducting academic research and hosting open forums for students to pass initiatives that target student needs. 

She noted that hosting open forums would be something she would prioritize in her first semester on the board of directors, if elected. 

“It’s beyond just involving yourself in student life, but you have to endorse yourself with the current wants and demands of students,” Godfrey said.

Donya Ahmady is a graphic communication major. She was not present at media day.

Diego Castillo, a political science freshman, is running to be a CLA representative to make a difference in people’s lives. His platform surrounds issues such as adding improvements to Cal Poly’s recreational center by creating an outdoor gym, expanding dining all hours and expanding transportation options for students without cars who want to explore San Luis Obispo. 

“I’ve gotten involved and been really passionate about politics because it’s the most tangible way to make change in people’s lives,” Castillo said. “I want to do that at this school, improve the lives of people here, and make Cal Poly a better place.” 

Castillo specifically wants to increase the locations that Mustang Shuttle goes to so students, especially first-years, can access hiking trails and local beaches. He also wants to add shuttle routes to the airport and train station.  

Along with that, Castillo wants to improve communication between administration and the study body. An idea he had, if elected, is to run a social media page which acts as a more accessible way for students to understand what the Cal Poly administration is doing on campus and voice their opinions. 

“I think if [the student body] has easy access to us as the board of directors, it’s easier access for them to get their voices heard by the administration,” Castillo said.

Running for reelection to represent OCOB is Sophie Gunter, a business administration accounting junior. She believes her experience gives her a unique understanding of the position.

“As an incumbent, I have an understanding of how ASI works, how the board works, and what it takes to be a leader inside the boardroom,” said Gunter.

Gunter, who is also the club funding liaison to the business and finance committee, wants to ensure student clubs are fully funded so that students can “find hobbies that they enjoy” and “find people that they connect with.”

Gunter believes that OCOB has been underrepresented in ASI. So, she wants to “reconstruct” the student advisory council so that students can “get a foot in the door” with the dean’s decisions.

“I want to make sure that OCOB students know that they have a voice, “ said Gunter.

Alan Ko, a business administration freshman, is focussed on keeping his college informed on student government.

“There’s a bunch of issues that ASI have been addressing, especially just with the amount of initiatives that’s happening. A lot of people don’t know what’s going on,” Ko said.

By using the ASI website, Ko wants to keep students informed on ASI actions that impact students. He feels this is especially important to address the impact of Artificial Intelligence on future jobs for OCOB students.

Additionally, he is a member of Phi Sigma Kappa, a sorority sweetheart, a writer for Mustang News and a first-generation college student. He believes this makes him attuned to “a wide orbit of voices and concerns.”

“There’s a lot of struggles that people who aren’t first generation don’t really understand. I bring those perspectives to the table,” Ko said.

Tommy Fewel, a business administration freshman with a concentration in marketing, feels he can take the information and the input from his fellow students to make effective change. 

“I’m very personable, so people can come to me very easily, and I can talk to them and allow them to speak their truth,” said Fewel.

Fewel also wants to increase transparency and understanding among students of ASI through feedback forums and surveys. He said that there is a lot that ASI does that students should know more about, using ASI’s grocery shuttle as an example.

“I believe that a lot of people don’t actually know how big of an impact the board of directors makes on campus and how they get things done, such as the shuttle that just happened for grocery stores, and I don’t think people know that that’s how big of an impact they can have and that they can make decisions,” Fewel said.

Tiffany Chau, a business administration junior with a concentration in finance, recognizes that ASI has a lot to offer students. She wants to make sure her fellow students can take advantage of the resources it provides.

“I want to be able to make sure that students are heard within the college, and that they have, they can get the resources that they need to better support them,” Chau said.

Additionally, she wants to support DEI initiatives and make housing more manageable for students. Chau believes her previous student government experiences in high school make her qualified to hear and support her fellow students.

“I make sure to take stances in what I believe in, and I also make sure that my ideas help benefit everyone and collaborate with the team, you could. Initiatives aren’t just passed by me alone. It’s a team effort to make sure that everyone has a stay,” Chau said.