Debates for the 2023-2024 Associated Students Board of Directors election were held in the Student Union on Monday afternoon.
Candidates were allowed to briefly introduce themselves and answer questions asked by those in attendance.
Twelve positions were debated on, with five only having one candidate present.
Voting began on Monday at 3 p.m. and ends Thursday at 8 a.m.
Students can vote online using their SJSU ONE login.
Voting booths will be open outside Clark Hall, on 7th Street Plaza and in the housing quad on Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
President
Dominic Treseler, political science junior and current A.S. director of legislative affairs, said his experience working with departing A.S. President Nina Chuang has allowed him to be a part of tangible change at SJSU.
“Just to note, I’ve kind of been Nina’s right hand man on all of these initiatives,” he said. “When we learned that Title IX had not engaged with our students, we meet and really push on a system level to make sure that these new Title IX implementations were being spoken to throughout the CSU.”
Treseler also said there are subtle systemic affronts to Native American culture at SJSU that he wants to address if elected.
“The fact that we use chief so often linguistically, like, even our own chief electoral officer, this is something that is probably a little problematic,” he said. “It’s just something that people don’t think about, so I’m looking into those uncommon, deeply structural pieces of racism.”
Public health sophomore Sarab Multani said he wants to increase the sense of belonging for all students while also expanding upon academic resources at SJSU.
Multani said coming to SJSU from Los Angeles has opened his eyes to the struggles students from outside the Bay Area face in terms of making connections around campus.
“One of the things I bring is that external perspective,” he said. “A lot of students at San Jose State see A.S. as, like, a high school student body, when in reality it’s much larger than that, we have the power to implement real change not only on this campus but our community.”
Multani also said not being a part of A.S. will help breath fresh air into the way strategies are developed and implemented, as well as changing the ways SJSU students view the organization.
Vice President
Ariana Lacson, biomedical engineering sophomore and current A.S. director of co-curricular affairs, said she has three main initiatives, including mental health resources, diversity and inclusion.
Lacson said juggling coursework and involvement in other organizations is a common struggle shared by students at SJSU, and is a primary motivation for bettering mental health resources.
Lacson also said she wants to highlight the university’s diverse nature.
“I want to highlight and appreciate the cultural diversity we have here through advocacy and programming and overall enhance student welfare by increasing communication between the student body and the board,” she said.
The second candidate Safiullah Saif, software engineering sophomore and current A.S. director of academic affairs, said his experience in his current position has successfully primed him for potential responsibilities he may have as vice president.
Saif said developing a conflict resolution procedure is one of his main objectives.
“I don’t think we have an official procedure for resolving conflicts,” he said. “I feel like we have to make that procedure so that we have a basis and a template as to what steps to take.”
He also said being a set of ears for students’ concerns will bolster a more authentic relationship between A.S. and the SJSU community.
Controller
Idan Belau, sophomore economics and business administration double major, said broadening A.S.'s outreach to more recognized student organizations and notifying them of potential funding opportunities is at the forefront of his campaign.
He said he will look into past ways money has been allocated and base his actions on what has worked and what hasn’t.
Dhruv Varshney, computer engineering junior and current A.S. director of sustainability affairs, said he will make it his mission to ensure every dollar given to A.S. goes back to students.
Varshney said improving A.S.’s relations with student organizations, via advertising money that could provide funding, will be made essential if he’s elected.
“I want to make sure by strengthening our relationship with student organizations by making connections and marketing that money,” he said. “I want to make sure that each and every one of you and each and every student organization receives the money they have given back into their pockets.”
Communications
Computer engineering junior Sidhant Sadawarti said he wants to create more interactive events and create a more diverse campus people can engage themselves in.
Sadawarti also said he wants to catch students’ attention through improving A.S.’s social media presence.
“Social media is the biggest thing, so I would try to make social media more interactive by creating interactive graphic animations and creating live sessions and Q&A sessions which are not done right now,” he said.
Journalism senior D’Netrus Chevis-Rose said he has the knowledge and incentive to be the A.S. director of communications because of his role as social media manager and public relations chair of his fraternity, Delta Sigma Phi.
Chevis-Rose said he has had the opportunity to meet students from outside the greater San Jose area and feels hosting events for students from different geographic areas can be a good opportunity to build a sense of community.
Academic Affairs
Computer science freshman Nikharv Domadiya said his campaign is focused on helping students navigate various aspects of campus life such as new schedules and adjusting to different classroom environments.
He also said he plans to develop different workshops and information sessions to ensure academic success.
Data science sophomore Diya Doshi said she encouraged dialogue between students regarding issues they are having academically. She said talking about struggles with peers is more comfortable than speaking to a faculty advisor.
Doshi said she plans to implement Discord channels as an informal stream of communication between students, creating an empathetic environment.
Business administration freshman Roy Zorba shared a similar sentiment, he said engagement with students about their academic needs is crucial.
Zorba said he has plans to grow different approaches to solve these instructional issues.
“This includes utilizing social media platforms to create polls and surveys, hosting virtual meetings, doing online surveys and starting on social media campaigns,” he said.
Intercultural Affairs
Global studies junior Ariana Shah said it is essential the director of intercultural affairs attends board meetings for ethnic, cultural, international and non-traditional groups.
She also said she wants to encourage dialogue with different centers to better understand their needs and become more aware of discrimination they may be facing.
Communications junior Bertha Cazares said getting groups to interact with one another is important.
“I would like to possibly create a group that meets either monthly or every other month to connect with each other and just make sure that everybody is being heard and had their opinions and concerns voiced as well,” she said.
