JULIANA STUMPP
STAFF WRITER

Since 1991, Associate Student Inc. (ASI) has been the voice for the students, and that mission continues this week as twenty-two candidates run for positions in the ASI Board of Directors.

On Monday, March 12, the ASI election polls opened for executive and representative positions for the 2012-2013 school year. The polls are open March 12 – 15, and voting is online at www.csusm.edu/ vote. The elected candidates are a voice for the campus’s issues and interests.

The ASI Board of Directors works together as a team to represent the best interest of the students; there are individual positions that concentrate on each student need.

“As ASI representatives, these students sit in committees that shape our future as students. These committees can affect anything from how many hours a unit is to what majors we have or what [a campus] building will look like,” Eliasar Molina said, candidate for Vice President of Marketing.

There are two candidates running for the office of ASI President, Scott Silviera, who has served this past year as ASI’s vice president of external affairs, and Matt Weaver, a business student who serves as editor of the Koala, a controversial student-run newspaper that’s distributed periodically on campus.

Jennifer Ehrhart and Evan Long are running for College of Education, Health and Human Services Representatives (COEHHS).

“Duties include holding one event for COEHHS, sitting on two committees on campus as well as attending all Student Affairs Committee (SAC) meetings which all representatives must attend, and Board of Directors meetings,” Ehrhart said.

“It’s all about the student’s voices to be [sic] heard, and that’s what I’m passionate about. My passion for this campus is never ending, and I’m here to serve the students,” said Katherine Atienza of the Student at Large Representative position.

The online voting process allows the students to choose who they want to represent them in the Board of Directors.

Every semester, students pay a mandatory $50 fee for ASI. Cipriano Vargas was a Social Justice Officer for ASI and is now running for Vice President of External Affairs. “Students should care [about] what the fees are used for.” Vargas explained that they support operating budgets for the Board of Directors, Women’s Center, Pride Center and Campus Activity Board.

Also running for VP of External Affairs is Sammi Carr, previously a Student at Large Representative.

“The [VP of External Affairs] position is like the CSUSM Student Ambassador. [The] job would be going to different CSU schools once a month to meet with other student leaders to talk about statewide advocacy issues relating to higher education,” Carr said.

On Tuesday, March 13, there will be an open forum during U-Hour at Kellogg Plaza where students can find more information about the candidates and their running platforms. Find more information about your candidates at www.csusm.edu/ asi/bod/asielections.

The Election Committee will announce voting results the day after the polls close, March 16.