Opinion: With the ASUO Presidential token debate, held the night before voting officially opens, one winning slate emerged from the debate; Mariam Hassan and Kiki Akpakwu from OurUO.
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On Tuesday April 2nd, candidates representing three different slates gathered on stage to discuss their vision and candidacy for the presidential ticket on the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO). The candidates for ASUO, with the president and vice listed respectively, are Cash Kowalski and María Soto Cuesta (Flock Forward), Mariam Hassan and Kiki Akpakwu (OurUO), and Max Jensen and Maxwell Gullickson (UO Student Power).
The 2024 ASUO election will decide the future of how over $1.5 million of excess revenue from student fees during the pandemic is spent, including $9 million in student fees, the 2025 state legislative priorities and other campus events. Each candidate was asked questions from the student body on various issues, and every slate came up with unique and thoughtful answers. However, throughout the night, one slate captured and addressed the needs of the student body the best: Hassan and Akpakwu.
During the opening statement, Hassan was quick to point out the need for more representation of identities and voices within ASUO, and how the student government still needs to create a community of collaboration between student organizations. Hassan said that ASUO is “Heard but not seen,” asking “Where are they?” in the context of follow-through and commitment to ensuring proper representation and transparency.
Following OurUO’s plan of integrated representation within the slate, students of all backgrounds, organizational activities, campus involvement and past organizing involvement are given a chance to run. This diversity in representation is imperative because it allows representatives to use their voices and lived experiences directly, as well as connections, to better representation and resource allocation on campus. Hassan and Akpakwu plan to “show up” for student organizations starting day one.
Hassan and Akpakwu also focus on providing adequate resources for all students and ensuring permanence within established programs, which is especially important considering that 1 in 5 people experience food insecurity in Lane County. One of the partnerships they mentioned was working with the Oregon Food Bank to provide meals that are conscious of dietary, personal and religious needs. OurUO also hopes to implement plans that consider basic household needs of students. One of the ideas mentioned, which Hassan aims to launch, is starting a weekly free laundry program for on-campus and off-campus students by utilizing the Hamilton basement laundry machines.
One of the striking moments within the debate was when Hassan’s opponent Kowalski mentioned that ASUO had already begun planning to create a permanent basic needs building on campus as a retort to a point Hassan had mentioned. Hassan, in turn, used this statement to her advantage and highlighted the lack of transparency between ASUO and the student body. “The fact that only ASUO knows about this and not the student body is why I chose to run,” Hassan said.
All candidates were aware that voting turnout for ASUO elections has been historically low. The winter special elections accounted for 6% of the student population, and the last presidential election received 17%. The structural barriers, such as campaign finance limits and a three-day notice of candidacy, have led to the increasing importance of having a representative slate on the ASUO ballot to ensure that candidates can leverage personal connections to encourage voting — one of the most effective organizing tactics in electoral politics, which OurUO has done.
Hassan and Akpakwu both have shown a deep commitment to student voice and a strong commitment to good governance practices. They have created a platform committed to providing deliverable change within the scope of their resources and leveraging the power that the ASUO has to create meaningful change within the UO community, while always putting your voice first.