There has been a lot of talk about issues plaguing students and ways to solve them this week. ASUO presidential and vice presidential candidates have discussed their viewpoints and plans for the future. Now is the chance for other voices from their three platforms to be heard.
Ashley Bateman, a graduate student studying biology, is running for graduate/law Senate seat 18, with the We Are Oregon platform. She wants to close the gap between undergraduate and graduate students to create one cohesive community. @@http://weareoregon.wordpress.com/the-we-are-oregon-team/@@
“I feel like being a graduate student is a unique position to include all groups,” Bateman said. “We have advice and wisdom and are much closer to the college process.”
Another potential candidate running with We Are Oregon is freshman history and philosophy major Will Steiner. He hopes if elected to literature studies Senate seat 15, he will work to keep student money on campus and make the ASUO more accessible. @@http://weareoregon.wordpress.com/the-we-are-oregon-team/@@
“I didn’t even know I had a senator,” Steiner said. “There is a big disconnect between the ASUO and students. I want to work to fix that.”
Current ASUO Sen. Nina Nolen is running for Programs Finance Committee seat 1 with Ben and Lamar. She is committed to making sure student money goes to the right groups. @@http://www.benandlamar.com/slate.html@@  @@http://asuo.uoregon.edu/senate.php?a=30@@
“We really need to be able to support student programs because they are the heart of this University,” Nolen said. “I will work hard to make sure money is given to groups that really deserve it.”
Christina Hardesty, the current Athletics and Contracts Finance Committee vice president, is hoping to be elected to ACFC Senate seat 7, on the Ben and Lamar campaign. She hopes to work toward lowering tuition in order to involve more out-of-state students. @@http://www.benandlamar.com/slate.html@@
“I am from Idaho, and I know how important it is to make tuition more affordable,” Hardesty said. “Our slate truly pulls from every corner of campus.”
Two freshmen candidates are excited to experience their first year of elections with Katie and Alex. The first, psychology major Luis Armenta, is running for Department Finance Committee Seat 9. He wants to work to involve more freshmen and people of color in the ASUO. @@http://www.uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Luis*Armenta@@ @@his name is misspelled on this site, don’t believe them! http://votekatieandalex.org/the-slate/@@
“I have been really involved, even though it is my first year at this school,” Armenta said. “I hope that if people see me as a person of color in a leadership role it will prompt other people to join.”
The second freshmen supporting Katie and Alex is current ASUO Sen. Lindsay Damiano. She is committed to spending her time in office protecting student programs.
“It is important to make sure we protect programs because they involve everyone,” Damiano said. “It is important to boost the things that are most beneficial to students. There is no such thing as an average Duck, and we will recognize that.”
Students can vote on DuckWeb until Friday at 5 p.m.