Endorsement: Tanner Schinderle presents an expansive vision for what ASI President can be

Mustang News’ Endorsement Board encourages Cal Poly students to vote Tanner Schinderle for ASI President next week. This year’s election turns out to be a microcosm for national political debates about large government versus small government.

Both Schinderle and his opponent, Caleb Shick, present visions for ASI that represent a change in the status quo. We find Schinderle’s specific vision for increased services ASI could provide students far more compelling than Shick’s unrealistic, cost-reducing proposals. 

READ MORE: ASI Presidential Debate and the candidate’s platforms

During the ASI Presidential debate and our own interviews with the candidates, it became clear that Schinderle was prepared and presented a clear vision for the future of ASI. Shick, while passionate, was not able to articulate his vision beyond a few talking points about cost reduction.

Clubs

Both candidates emphasize the importance of supporting clubs with funding, streamlined processes and support during the semester conversion. Schinderle has tangible experience with this — currently serving as ASI President Marc Cabeliza’s chief of staff. He would offer students his extensive leadership experience and internal knowledge of ASI’s inner workings.

Shick, on the other hand, is less experienced with ASI and leadership. When we asked him about his previous leadership experience, he mentioned how he has led class group projects. Shick told Radio Party, KCPR’s morning talk show, that he was in Boy Scouts and worked for his dad. He also told Mustang News, but did not announce publicly, that he is the treasurer of Cal Poly’s Turning Point USA chapter. 

Schinderle’s experience with clubs makes him well-suited to take his boss’s reins. Shick’s core experience with clubs is acting as treasurer for TPUSA, which brings his cost-cutting rhetoric full circle. 

Shick’s cost reductions

Shick imagined a more efficient ASI: one that cuts out or lowers redundant student costs, streamlines club bureaucracy and focuses funds on large-scale events. 

He proposed making certain student fees optional, such as the health service fee for students who have their own private insurance, or making the PolyCard a one-time fee rather than a quarterly fee.

Schinderle objected, claiming the ASI president does not have the ability to reduce these fees on their own.

“It’s important to know what the ASI president can and cannot do unilaterally, which includes elimination of student fees,” Schinderle said during the debate. “It is not possible to unilaterally eliminate any fees, including the ASI fee. Students vote to approve these fees, and I’m grateful that one person alone doesn’t have the ability to change the fees that we pay.”

Not only will changes to student fees require a student referendum, but the endorsement board also agrees with Tanner’s sentiment. The health service fee helps make campus services more equitable for all students and should not be optional. 

Schinderle’s proposed resources

Schinderle idealized an expansive ASI: one that provides students free transportation to popular destinations, 24/7 study spaces, entertaining events and a say in the process. 

Schinderle’s proposal to expand shuttle programs to the beach and airport seems like a logical extension of his successful grocery shuttle pilot program. He also discussed creating a rental registry platform, similar to Polyratings, that empowers prospective renters to increase transparency in San Luis Obispo’s rental market.

Schinderle further highlighted his previous work to center student voices and address concerns. During the ASI Presidential debate, he brought up the existing ASI Student Government feedback form, which he said he personally checked regularly. Schinderle also claimed he supported ASI’s transition away from club e-plans as of April 1. 

Schinderle underlined all of these efforts with consistent reassurances that students’ opinions should be put at the forefront of these decisions. 

Partnerships

Neither candidate can execute their platform by working solely within ASI. Proposing radically different administrations, both platforms would rely on partnerships with other campus and community organizations to fully succeed.

Schinderle also recognized the importance of momentum in the presidency. He stressed the difficulty ASI’s partners face with a constantly rotating cast of characters every year, potentially putting long-term initiatives in jeopardy. 

Schinderle has demonstrated his ability to work both within ASI and beyond to deliver results students can appreciate. While Shick brings experience as a real estate agent outside Cal Poly, he did not include these skills in his platform for the presidency.

Our next ASI President should have experience and relationships with campus administration, housing, dining, health & wellbeing and other departments. Serving as ASI chief of staff is certainly not the only way to do this, but we can’t deny Schinderle’s relationships across campus and the community will ultimately support students. 

Our decision

Largely, we are not too intrigued by Shick’s priorities of reducing fees at the expense of services. While we do not think Schinderle is the perfect candidate, we are confident Schinderle’s proposal will create an ASI that works for all Cal Poly students.

We don’t believe everything on Schinderle’s platform can get done in the next year — and to his credit, neither does he — we appreciate his commitment to building a bolder ASI that provides necessary services when Cal Poly will not. 

ASI Elections begin on April 21 at 8 a.m. and close on April 23 at 8 a.m. We encourage you to vote and to vote for Schinderle.