Last updated April 14
San Jose State’s Associated Students held its first-ever virtual election debate over Zoom on Monday, moderated by the Spartan Daily.
Within the span of two hours, candidates for the A.S. board of directors gave their opening statements before answering questions prepared by the Daily.
Seven out of the 17 candidates are running unopposed, including political science junior Zobeida Delgadillo, who is running for A.S. president.
Forty minutes in, a “Zoom bomber” interrupted the call, but was removed after a few seconds. Chief Elections Officer Cynthia Fernandez-Rios apologized for the interruption and said the debate would move to another private Zoom meeting if it was interrupted again.
Students can vote on the Associated Students website until Friday at 8 a.m.
Vice President
The moderator asked communications junior Brendan Quock about increasing the visibility of the Professional Standards Committee, which oversees faculty affairs.
Quock proposed to use social media to make the committee’s information accessible to students, just like current A.S. President Branden Parent.
Business sophomore Wesley Sullivan, who is running for the position of vice president as well, voiced his suspicions of this approach. He pointed out that the method has already been attempted, to which Quock replied that he would revitalize the system so it could reach more students.
Sullivan proposed a different approach, building on more established techniques like posting physical board reports on campus.
Controller
Global operations junior Nicholas Kern said he would divide the $250,000 allocated for student organizations between the two semesters of the year. He said in the aftermath of COVID-19, funds should be allocated to make students feel like they are still part of the community.
Business management information systems senior Flor Sario listed her previous experience on the A.S. board of directors and said it made her the most qualified person to oversee allocation of funds.
Legislative Affairs
Moderators asked the candidates if they wanted to bring any current legislative bills concerning California State University students to the board’s attention.
Political science sophomore Ashley Guerrero mentioned Assembly Bill 2023, which would allow students to update their school records to reflect updated legal names and gender.
Political science sophomore Kadence Sky Walker advocated for a more inclusive campus and said he would back bills focused on reforming bills such as Cal Grant to help the most vulnerable students.
Business science information sophomore Shivam Patel called for students rights and cited several bills. Among them were fiscal bills such as Assembly Bill 1314, a bill that would provide Cal Grant funds over the summer. He also said he would push for cheaper parking at SJSU.
Co-Curricular Affairs
Candidates for director of co-curricular affairs mainly discussed plans to increase student engagement.
Industrial technology senior Shashwath Koppisetti proposed promoting off-campus eateries nearby, noting that the food ordering app Boost only supports on-campus restaurants while ignoring the others nearby. He said app engagement and discounts could encourage students to eat there.
Communications junior Leland Pama said he would focus on creating events that people would want to attend by scheduling them during the day. He also aims to support small clubs and organizations with the proceeds of the events.
