ASUO held its Spring elections on April 14 with most candidates running unopposed. The election drew only 369 voters, the lowest in four years and a third of last year’s turnout.
Isaiah Boyd was elected president for the second year in a row. He said he plans to continue fighting for student advocacy by perfecting programs, such as their student accessibility program.
This year, Boyd has a new vice president: Odalis Aguilar-Aguilar. One of ASUO’s secretaries, she intends on promoting administration accountability and empowering historically underrepresented student voices, according to her election profile.
“Odalis and I are hoping to develop new and effective strategies for amplifying the student voice throughout all spaces on campus — ASUO’s operations included,” Boyd said in an email.
Boyd and Aguilar-Aguilar ran unopposed and won with just 323 votes — 216 votes less than last year’s election.
When asked about the election’s low turnout, Boyd said it was to be expected. He noted that the pandemic and number of unopposed candidates likely impacted student engagement.
“If anything, the turnout for this election has demonstrated that ASUO must increase its interaction with the student body,” he stated. “Next year, I hope to foster a stronger engagement with students in all ASUO initiatives.”
Jonathan Laus, who holds a seat on the Athletics and Contracts Finance Committee, ran unopposed, winning senate seat one. In an interview, he said he will focus on administrative accountability and transparency.
“In my work with the athletics department — they were always lovely — but there was a lot behind the scenes that we really had to push for that I feel like should have been pretty surface level,” he said. “A government is really only good if it’s held accountable.”
Laus believes that increased public relations is the key to increasing ASUO’s voter turnout next year. “I feel like we need to boost that so people know we exist,” he said.
Kavi Shrestha won senate seat four — the only race in the senate this election. The freshman beat out ASUO incumbent, Nathan Waldman, by 157 votes for a seat on the EMU Board.
Shrestha said in an interview that he wants to focus on food security for students due to the financial effects of the pandemic. He also said one of his first priorities is to ensure the availability of menstrual products in UO bathrooms.
“I don’t understand why it’s still not provided,” said Shrestha. “It should be something as basic as toilet paper in a bathroom.”
Like Boyd’s administration, Shrestha hopes to increase student engagement with ASUO and vice versa. He said that this lack of outreach was partially reflected in the low turnout.
“I want to put student voices first,” Shrestha said. “That includes getting students involved so ASUO can understand the concerns of the student body and work on them.”
Emily Chang won the only race in the Program’s Finance Committee against Katie Mayer. Chang serves on PFC already and hopes to represent international students, according to her election profile.
Kelly Keith won against Keaton Ibendahl, gaining a seat on the Athletics and Contracts Finance Committee. In her election profile, she emphasizes integrity and transparency and plans to advocate for marginalized students.
Kati Rodriguez Perez won their race against Anna Jatsura for a seat on the EMU Board Finance Committee. Rodriguez Perez will also focus on uplifting the voices of marginalized students and increasing administrative transparency, according to their election profile.
“I am running for office because I want to be able to hold the administration accountable,” Rodriguez Perez wrote in their election profile. “The administration must remain transparent regarding the decisions they are making especially when it directly impacts the wellbeing of their students.”
The word transparency was mentioned 32 times throughout ASUO candidates’ election profiles.
In 2019, the Daily Emerald published an article about the lack of regulations surrounding ASUO campaign financing. ASUO’s 2019 contribution and expenditure reports were heavily redacted with most information blacked out.
This year’s reports show the vendor/payee’s name, the type of expense and the exact amount spent.
Full election results can be accessed here with a UO login.
Editor’s note: This article was edited after publication to reflect the fact that Boyd was elected president, not senate president, of ASUO.
