The five ASWU executive candidates gathered in front of a small crowd of students in Lied Square on April 7 to discuss their platforms and stances on different issues at Whitworth. General elections will be held Wednesday.
Current Executive Vice President Katie Zerkel began the night by asking each candidate what his or her vision was for the various positions.
Junior Obe Quarless, who serves as the current sports events coordinator in ASWU and is running for president, said his vision is to make sure students are heard.
“My main vision is to invite people into the student body and make sure ASWU is doing everything they can to create the Whitworth experience for them,” Quarless said.
Junior Peter Cleary, who is also running for president, said he wants to make sure things get done next year in ASWU.
“Specifically, I want to do this by connecting more strongly to the student body,” Cleary said. “I want to work in very concrete ways to get connected. If ASWU is not connected, then why do we exist?”
Junior Kalen Eshoff, who is running unopposed for EVP, said she hopes to connect ASWU with students and listen to student needs and desires.
“My position would be to listen to students by connecting the student body and ASWU, and turning visions into reality,” Eshoff said.
Junior Kendra Hamilton, who is running for financial vice president and currently serves as FVP, said she wants to educate students on how they can better access the unallocated funds in ASWU.
“It’s been difficult for students [to get money] because they don’t know the process, and they don’t know how to go through the paperwork,” Hamilton said. “My vision is to reorganize it so that everything is streamlined and easier for students.”
Junior Carl Chan, who is also running for FVP, said he wants to ensure that the ASWU funds are being spent in the best way possible. Chan also said he wants to build relationship with campus club leaders and to help students feel comfortable starting new clubs.
“I want to deal with people, not the organizations,” Chan said. “I want to work with club presidents and representatives so that I can see where they’re coming from.”
When questioned about their individual opinions on the recently chartered Open Conversation: Orientation club, all the candidates agreed that the club is an opportunity for students to discuss sexual orientation and make themselves heard.
“It’s important to start to question our own beliefs,” Hamilton said. “We are at college. We are supposed to be learning. Change is supposed to occur, and we need to facilitate that.”
Eshoff, Chan and Cleary, who all currently live in Stewart, were asked how they expected to train and prepare ASWU members in their jobs when they have no current experience themselves.
“I’m not worried about being able to know the positions because that will come quickly, especially if I’m in communication and am seeking out the criticism of those who know about those positions,” Eshoff said.
Cleary said that being familiar with the different ASWU positions can be built up without being in a position.
“By going to the meetings and shadowing the current president, I’m hoping to build up familiarity,” Cleary said.
Chan said he feels he knows enough people on ASWU that he can sit down and learn about the various positions from them.
The presidential and FVP candidates said they would like to remain involved in ASWU even if they don’t win, but that their participation would probably be more limited.
“I cannot say I would be as involved as I am now because of my other commitments,” Quarless said. “But learning what’s going on [in ASWU] is an obligation for students – we’re paying for it, so we should know what’s going on. So I will continue to be a part of it.”
Hamilton said the relationship between the three executive positions is not hierarchal. Instead, it’s a combination of different strengths, Hamilton said.
“We all focus on different things,” Hamilton said. “We are elected because of leadership qualities, but not because any one else is better than the other.”
Quarless added that in order to work together, it is important to recognize each individual’s differences as well as bring out their strengths.
“We do have a good sense of what’s going on, and we do care. That’s the bottom line,” Quarless said.
When asked how they would work with leaders outside ASWU, both presidential candidates said communication and visibility are important.
“In order to be connected, it’s important to be visible,” Cleary said.
The presidential and FVP candidates were asked to explain why they felt they were a better choice for their positions. Chan said he felt he is more willing to work with people than Hamilton.
“I feel I’m approachable and that people can come to me work things out,” Chan said. “I’m willing to listen and eager to learn about what other people have to say.”
Hamilton said her experience in ASWU makes her a more qualified candidate for FVP.
“I have been in ASWU for two years now, and I have the experience already to see what needs to be changed,” Hamilton said.
Cleary said he felt he is able to relate to people better than Quarless, which makes him a better candidate for president. Quarless said he is more familiar with both the student body and with ASWU itself than Cleary is.
When asked how they would help freshmen become more aware of ASWU, both Quarless and Cleary said there needs to be an increase in visibility. Quarless also said he would like to conduct the general assembly in the dorms and that he wanted to have a space in the HUB with current ASWU information.
“The information that is talked about [in ASWU] needs to be put out,” Quarless said. “There needs to be more immediacy and intimacy.”
Hamilton said she hopes to start having meetings once a month with students in order to help them understand how to access the unallocated funds.
“My goal is to make unallocated money more accessible to students,” Hamilton said. “I am committed to open sessions and outlining the process so that students will be better represented and will better understand the government.”
Chan said he hoped to make the monthly club council meetings public so students can see how the club process works.
“I want to build relationships with [club] leaders so I can be able to hold them accountable and insure that the money they are given is being well-spent,” Chan said.
All of the candidates agreed that ASWU serves to represent the students while student life works more intimately with students in their everyday activities.
“Student life works with the life of a student,” Cleary said. “ASWU is the student voice, elected by the students, for the students.”
Hamilton said an important aspect of promoting unity maintaining a balance between letting people do what they want and connecting them.
“We have to allow students who don’t fit in to let them make their own path,” Hamilton said. “At the same time, we need to build bridges. We can’t let people grow apart.”
Eshoff said there needs to be some division on campus.
“Students are starting to value honesty over niceness,” Eshoff said. “Whitworth is becoming a more honest microcosm of what life is going to be. If we get feedback that students are dealing with this, we can help spread that to the bodies of change.”
Chan said that clubs and other organizations can help to facilitate education of cultural differences, which promotes unity.
“Things like Open Conversation: Orientation are great venues for people to voice their opinions,” Chan said.
Cleary said he would like to draw examples from other universities to help bring unity.
“I would like to get connected with other student body presidents to learn, and try to implement ideas that have worked for them,” Cleary said.
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