Patrick Trautfield
Click here to view Mustang Daily video interviews with the ASI presidential candidates.
Nine Mustang Daily editors sat down with ASI presidential candidates Arvand Sabetian, Brandon Souza and Matt Taylor on April 30 to discuss the issues that will affect students for the next year. All three are extraordinarily well-qualified and experienced, and the editors agreed that all would make outstanding presidents. Sabetian was adamant about helping students discover the importance of ASI. Souza stressed the need for better safety on and off campus, particularly at night. And Taylor is most concerned with opening lines of communication between students and their ASI representatives.
As the editors deliberated after the meeting, a front-runner started to emerge: Taylor was seen as the “most real” of the three candidates and seemed to be most in tune with students’ wants and needs. Ultimately, eight of the nine editors agreed that Taylor is the best candidate for the 2007-08 ASI presidency. Two editors were not present to vote.
Taylor is not just talking the talk – he’s already started taking steps toward implementing his main campaign points, which can take off as soon as he is elected. For example, he’s interested in creating podcasts of meetings and events that impact students most, so that they, in a sense, can sit in as well. In fact, Taylor has already talked to the Apple store that will soon open downtown for collaboration and funding. In addition, he’s come up with a plan to accelerate graduation evaluations by having a live-action audit system for students, meaning they can check off graduation requirements through my.calpoly.edu.
When asked about safety, he was a realist. He answered that it’s not just about projecting the illusion of safety, but really making the campus a secure place at all times.
He plans to work with the University Police Department and the San Luis Obispo Police Department to educate students about how to stay safe too, going beyond just putting up more lights.
Both Souza and Sabetian echoed many of the good ideas that Taylor put forward, but the editors feel that Taylor’s fresh attitudes and ability to relate to the average Cal Poly student will transfer best into getting real results for all 18,000 students. As Taylor said in his final remarks, being president isn’t about him and a flashy title – it’s about the students he would represent.
But the editors are just nine students with an opinion of who we think will serve Cal Poly best. We therefore encourage you to make your own decision. If you visit www.mustangdaily.com, you can watch the editorial board’s meeting with the candidates and decide for yourself. And most importantly, go to the polls May 9 and 10 and vote for who you think will most effectively lead Cal Poly next year.
Newspapers have a long-standing tradition of choosing a candidate during elections that they think will best serve their readers. The Mustang Daily editorial board annually sits down with the candidates for ASI president to ask them about their stances on issues that matter most to students. The board then decides, as a group, who would most effectively meet student needs.