The race for leadership positions in next year’s student government is about to reach the boiling point, with less than a week left until the general election ends.

One of the most highly contested positions, ASUO Student Senate Seat 1, is now between Alyce Chong and Adrian Gilmore, since the other four ASUO hopefuls were eliminated from the race during the primary election. Besides attending regular senate meetings and helping to decide how to spend the Senate surplus, the person elected to Seat 1 also will serve on the ASUO Programs Finance Committee and help allocate more than $5 million in student incidental fees.
Chong, a junior business administration major with a concentration in finance and marketing, is the incumbent. Chong said she wanted to run for the position again because PFC has had difficulties with a lack of consistency from year to year with a constant turnover of leadership. She added that even though she now knows about the long hours, endless meetings and sustained commitment that PFC requires, she still wants to return.
“After experiencing the whole PFC process this year, it makes me want to get more involved to protect the student incidental fee,” Chong said.
She added that she enjoys working with the PFC and helping student groups understand the budget process, especially since she’s gaining experience she hopes to use as a financial analyst someday.
Chong said she believes she will be able to represent student interests the best because she already has the knowledge and experience of how the student incident fee allocation process works. She added that the time she has spent with the PFC and Student Senate has helped her grow as an individual, especially with regards to teaching her professionalism.
Gilmore, a first-year law student, said he received his undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Georgia. Prompted by a desire to become an active member of the campus community, Gilmore decided to run for ASUO office. He added that it’s important to try to effect a positive change in the way things are run, for both yourself and those around you.
“It’s really easy to go to school and stay in your own bubble and not worry about what’s going on,” Gilmore said.
He added that the biggest problem he sees with student government right now is that some student populations are marginalized, such as law students, graduate students and non-traditional students. Gilmore said he felt these student groups were being ignored by the ASUO, and he’s had friends complain to him about not being able to get the funding they need from the PFC.
Gilmore said he thinks he can provide representation for all students. He added that he has the financial knowledge to be an effective PFC senator, as well as the ability to be impartial.
“I think that the thing about learning to be a lawyer is you have to be unbiased,” he said.