Beginning Monday April 6, UO students will be able to take part in the ASUO elections process. Polls will open that day, allowing any student to vote via their Duckweb account. Electing student officials is something that the student body does each year, and these officials will be students’ advocates in talks ranging from tuition to food security. Now more than ever, it’s crucial for students to voice their opinions about those who control millions of dollars of their student fees. Here’s what you need to know to vote:
Step 1: Between April 6 and 9, log on to Duckweb using your 95 number and your Duckweb password. This is the only location where students will be able to vote, so you must be able to access your Duckweb account in order to cast your vote.
Step 2: Once you have logged on to Duckweb during the elections, there will be an “ASUO Elections” link for students to click on. This should take students to a page where they will be able to see each candidate and what position they are running for. Many positions may only have one individual running for it. Positions like Executive President, however, will be hotly contested, so every vote counts in this stage.
Step 3: The final step is as simple as casting your vote. Students can learn more about all of the candidates on the ASUO Voter Guide website. The Elections Board also hosted a Q&A “debate,” in lieu of an in-person debate due to COVID-19 precautions.
The results will be announced on the evening of Friday April 10, and elected officials will be sworn in on May 25 and take office in June. Watch the Emerald’s coverage for the latest updates.
Almost all of the candidates are running as part of one of two “slates,” which act somewhat like political parties. To get a sense of what each slate stands for, the Emerald interviewed each presidential candidate.
Editor’s note: The candidates’ answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Ducks Matter: Vanessa Robles
Vanessa Robles, a sophomore and ASUO Executive’s current state affairs commissioner is in the running to become the next ASUO president. Robles is currently the head of Ducks Matter.
Daily Emerald: We’re currently in a time of crisis and, now more than ever, it is important that student leaders stand up for the student body. As ASUO president, how would you approach the tuition issue differently than the current administration?
Vanessa Robles: So, I’m already on the executive team. There has been a push to try and get reduced fees and tuition. … It’s clear to me that the administration obviously had no intention of reducing the costs.
The way that I would approach it is just more at a state-level initiative. Working with different student leaders on different Oregon campuses, and continuing that coalition and that push. The way that I would do it would be kind of an effort with OSA, the Oregon Student Association who is a statewide Student Association. A lot of the member campuses are different public universities and community colleges in Oregon.
DE: What real initiatives are you hoping to spearhead and how will the student body actually be affected by them?
VR: I’m looking for ways to help students in every way that we can. One really big project that I’m really looking forward to if, you know, if we were to be elected, is kind of like a textbook aid program, kind of like the one from the Women’s Center. Also, other departments on campus, like the Center for Multicultural Academic Excellence. So the Women’s Center, they have this program where students just apply for the book aid. [Students] just mention if they’re in need or if they’re Pell Grant eligible, and then at the end of the term, students return those books. So if there’s these departments doing this on campus, and if we’re really about helping students and advocating for students, then I think that should also be implemented within ASUO.
I know textbooks are that other thing that students really think about a lot, and so I just really want to find ways to be resourceful on campus and also making funds available or accessible to students.
DE: You’re currently working for the current administration, and your running mate is also the current Executive Vice President. How would you operate differently than the current administration? Can we expect a continuation of the current administration or can we expect change?
VR: I think people can definitely expect change because I am my own person. I have my own individuality. I have my own priorities and goals and visions that I see for ASUO. They are different from Sabinna’s. [Sabinna Pierre is the current ASUO president.] … Yes, we are currently on ASUO executive, but I would say that definitely expect change because the way that we roll or like our approach to this administration is definitely more proactive and community-based.
So, what I mean by that is Nyla [Jamison, the Ducks Matter vice president candidate and current ASUO VP] and I have taken this year and we’ve worked together. And we’ve kind of learned the ins and outs of ASUO [Executive]. … We have definitely grown. And I think what makes us unique is that we kind of know how executive works and we know kind of like what areas need more attention or like what areas need more support. I wouldn’t compare us to the current administration because like I said, we are our own [people] and we have a more community-based approach and kind of we really hope to put into work our individuality.
DE: Being a part of ASUO is a big time commitment. In recent history, a lot of younger members have resigned their positions after not being able to properly manage their responsibilities. With so many freshmen on your slate who do not have ASUO experience, how do you plan to get them up to speed on ASUO matters while also ensuring they maintain interest in the position?
VR: I don’t think that bringing in students that don’t have ASUO experience into ASUO is a bad thing. I think of myself as really approachable. I think I got along well and have good communication with people.
Regardless of what happens, I want to make sure that we move on and we continue to support each other because I think we’re definitely more powerful if we’re all working together, and I know that may be complicated because not everyone will be able to always agree or be on the same page but then that’s when this theme of respect comes in. Maintaining that respect with one another — with our co-workers and making sure that that communication is still flowing.
DE: Final summary: why vote for you over your opponent?
VR: Representation is power. Brings power. I think we will, Nyla and I, bring that representation, both through our identities — both cultural and just who we are — is really special and unique. And I think our community-based approach to kind of implement on campus specific policy changes and kind of support students is more unique because of who we are and the values and experiences that we bring.
Nyla and I, we’re both Latinas and so — I can’t speak for Nyla because she’s not here — but like for myself I’m a first generation student. I’m the eldest in my family. I’m [from a single-mom household]. I know a lot of things that students struggle with. I know what it’s like to like, kind of navigate this whole university, in social terms, academics and the financial side of it.
Learn more about Vanessa Robles on her candidate page on the ASUO Voter Guide website.
Ducks For Change: Isaiah Boyd
ASUO slate Ducks for Change is led by current sophomore Isaiah Boyd, the current senate president and previous member of the Ducks Empowered slate. Boyd is the youngest student at UO to become senate president, according to the Emerald’s previous reporting, and hopes to be one of the youngest to ever be ASUO President.
Daily Emerald: Tell me why you wanted to run for ASUO President.
Isaiah Boyd: You know, running for president of ASUO has kind of been a goal that I had early on. I think after experiencing ASUO my freshman year as a first-year representative, I got to see how big ASUO could be and the potential that it had. Politics is the game plan for me down the line so I figured I’d try it out and see how far I can take it. This year I had the privilege of being elected ASUO senate president which is huge for me. Not only because I was breaking boundaries to be the youngest senate body president to do it but also because it offered me a chance to see how my leadership skills would actually work in the ASUO setting.
This year has been really good. I’ve had an awesome team on both the senate and the committees that I operate and it kind of just motivated me even further to take that leap. So I decided, you know what, I’ll throw my hat in the ring and we’ll see if I can make some big changes.
DE: What real initiatives are you hoping to spearhead and how will the student body actually be affected by them?
IB: The number one thing we’re running on is our tuition engagement. We really feel like students should know what the tuition processes, every year this is kind of something that the executive branch tries to tackle but I’ve noticed that, you know, through the two years that I’ve been at the UO. [Increasing the knowledge students have about tuition is] something that we’re hoping to work on: creating forums, creating workshops, working closely with [University administration], so that we can include student voices more than that what’s already been done in the past.
The second program that we’re running on is textbook affordability. This is something that I’ve worked on with Nick Keough, who’s also running for a senate position right now as well as always, the OSPIRG student group….So I’m hoping that my relationship with them that we have developed this year can really translate over into next year’s executive position so we can tackle that. There’s an affordable textbook affordability act right now in the house, I believe. I don’t believe it’s been passed, but it’s in construction right now so I’m hoping that we can kind of follow suit with that and then translate it over to the UO, and maybe the state level. I personally don’t feel like anyone should be taxed an additional $100 for a textbook that’s required to pass the class. It just doesn’t seem fair.
The third big program that we’re running on is food insecurity. Every year this is something that, you know, ASUO slates try to take on….But I really want to take it even further and maybe create new programs like the Street Faire that can contribute more funds towards those [food insecurity] programs so that we can reach out to more students, collaborating with the university and seeing if they have any other programs that we can work on with them. I live off campus and the majority of my checks go straight to rent, so food insecurity was something that I kind of was on the brink of this year, and this quarter more specifically, so that’s something that I’m hoping that I can help other students out with next year for sure.
Editor’s note: A bill to “expand the use of open textbooks in order to achieve savings for students and improve textbook price information” was introduced in the US House of Representatives last April. The UO Senate has established a subcommittee to study an option to allow more open access to academic journals and plans to publish its recommendation in May.
DE: What differentiates you from your opponent and why should students pick you for ASUO President?
IB: I think Nyla [Jamison, the Ducks Matter VP candidate] and Vanessa [Robles, the Ducks Matter presidential candidate] are both really great leaders. I’ve gotten to work with them really closely this year and I think they’ve got really great programs that they’re running on. The only concern is just the change. There’s a lot of things that we set out to do this year that didn’t get accomplished in the current executive administration….If you can’t execute the programs that you set out on as an executive member, why go and do it again?
I think everyone has the power to make change in the world. I think everyone has something inside them that, whether they know it or not, is there to create a positive change. I’ve told people this before, and maybe it’s not the best thing to say as a presidential candidate, but I don’t really think I’m a special person. I don’t really think I have any great talents. I’m not very athletic….I’m not very musically talented….You know, I’m an average student….But the one thing that I think I do really well and that I really enjoy in life, this is kind of my mission statement, that I think is my purpose, is bringing together a really good group of people that can make change that really impacts everyone for the better.
My goal in life is to not to try and be the most perfect version of myself but rather bring together a really good group of people that excel in certain areas and create this team of people that can make a positive change wherever they go. I think students across this campus all have the potential to make a really immense change and all that’s missing right now is that unifying piece: that presidential candidate that can unite the campus and really highlight all of the abilities and skill sets that students have.
Learn more about Isaiah Boyd on his candidate page on the ASUO Voter Guide website.
Watch the Emerald’s coverage for the latest ASUO elections updates. Got questions for the newly elected leadership? Send them to ASUO reporter Bruno Crolla at [email protected].
Editor’s note: This story was updated in the evening on April 6 to update a factual error in a quote from Robles. Robles had confirmed the facts in the quote prior to publication and informed the Emerald that the fact was incorrect after the story published.
