CUSG Election Kick-off on Farrand Field
CU Student Government (CUSG) candidates met with students Monday, Oct. 31 on Farrand field to present their platforms.
Students gather on Farrand Field for the CUSG Election Kickoff.
All Pictures by Katie McDonald/The Bold
Candidates for the CUSG Representative at Large Positions met with students on Farrand field to advocate for their proposed policies and platforms during the election week. The three tickets–CU 4 All, Dedication, and Unity for All– touched on their plans to combat issues such as food insecurity, sexual assault, campus safety, and substance abuse.
CU 4 All
“CU 4 All”, composed of Elizabeth Craig and Kelly Clingan, emphasized a platform of transparency and increasing the connection between student government and the student body. They also spoke on their plans to increase campus safety and substance abuse education for students.
“I feel like there is kind of a gap between the actual student and the actual student government so we need to work to increase that bond,” Clingan stated. She said she plans to do this through increased communication and transparency.
Clingan claimed that under her and Craig’s leadership, students can expect a safer, more inclusive campus, a stronger bond between student government and the student body, and ‘increased comradery between the different branches of student government’.
Unity For All
The “Unity For All” ticket, which includes Trent Devine and Hector Guerrero, proposed policies to combat food insecurity, sexual assault and mental health issues as well as substance abuse dangers. The ticket plans to require mental health and sexual assault trainings for CUSG. Guerrero also discussed his plans to continue expanding The Bandana Project, an initiative where students who are willing to speak with peers in crisis put a green bandana on their backpacks.
“Unity For All” expanded on their intentions to combat sexual assault on campus by partnering with the Office of Victim Assistance (OVA) and the sexual misconduct taskforce to address these issues on campus. In regards to food scarcity, the ticket wants to partner with external food insecurity resources, such as The Kobu Foundation and Project Angel Heart, to combat the issue.
In terms of the general vision of their campaign, Devine stated, “A key principle of our campaign is making promises that we keep.” He went on to explain these promises include lowering the food insecurity rate in Boulder, destigmatizing mental health and getting rid of the notion that ‘we don’t need help’. Devine emphasized the idea of helping those in need in our community, “We are in this together, we are a herd.”
Dedication
The Dedication ticket, which includes Brendan Church and Raya Patel, has emphasized a platform of mental health, inclusion on Campus, climate change, and protection of free speech.
Church and Patel are proposing an ‘opt-out’ versus ‘an opt-in’ system for CU campus alerts so more students receive notifications. They claim they want to expand the radius for campus alerts to 5 miles and implement a university-mandatory app or notification service for freshmen.
“This app would allow the University to bypass some of the strict rules that the police have to follow in terms of reporting an incident, so that way [they] can get the information out to students more quickly,” Church explained.
Church also added that this app would help combat sexual assault by increasing communication to students about assaults.
Church and Patel claim they want to make CU an inviting campus where students feel safe.
“The reason I came to CU and the reason my running mate did as well was because we believed in this community so much and we want to give back and make sure all students have a place here,” said Church.
CUSG oversees around $25 million dollars of student fees. Their election turnout however, remains low in the past few years.
“Fall elections pull considerably lower turnout than the Spring elections,” said Poornima Ramesh, CUSG Election Commissioner. Although, she added is still “cautiously optimistic.”
“Our student government allocates millions of dollars of student fees on campus,” Ramesh said.
“It is imperative that students have their voices represented in this process so we can make the best changes on our campus.”
Ballots are available through Buff Portal and will close on Friday, November 4, 2022, at 8:00 p.m. You can find more information about the elections and the candidates themselves here.
