First day of voting underway for Associated Students of Washington State University Vancouver
Every spring, students vote for the next year’s Associated Students of Washington State University Vancouver (the WSU Vancouver student government) president, vice president and senate.
Currently running for 2018-19 ASWSUV president and vice president are the tickets of Davina Cepeda (for president) and Ana Betancourt (for vice president) as well as Lindsay “Elle” Marander (for president) and Naffisatou “Naffie” Sise (for vice president).
The presidential candidate debate was held on Monday, Feb. 25 in the Firstenburg Student Commons.
Due to there not being a large enough number of senator applicants for a candidates debate, ASWSUV hosted a “candidate social” on Friday, March 1 where students and candidates played games and ate snacks.
In April of last year, amid election controversy, the ASWSU Pullman Judicial Board invalidated the election of ASWSUV president elect, Vince Chavez and vice president elect, Davina Cepeda. This resulted in an interim president for the summer semester and a fall Special Election (read The VanCougar’s full coverage here).
Taking preventative measures, the 2018-19 AWSUV Senate recently passed a bylaw amendment raising the number of members on the AWSUV Judicial Board from three to five.
“This is to ensure that just in case a Judicial Board member does leave, Judicial Board is still able to operate,” current AWSUV President Vince Chavez said in a public statement ahead of the Feb. 25 presidential candidate debate.
At the presidential candidate debate this year, students, faculty and staff observed as the two tickets, all women of color candidates, answered questions pertaining to their campaigns and future plans if they were to be elected for the upcoming academic year.
Cepeda and Betancourt are running on the platform of putting students first and being the liaisons between the administration and the students.
Presidential candidate Davina Cepeda (right) and vice presidential candidate Ana Betancourt (left) before the ASWSUV presidential debate. (Cameron Kast/The VanCougar)
“I wouldn’t say Ana and I are politicians,” Cepeda said during the debate. “But we are liaisons. We would like to formulate a connection for networking.”
Cepeda, a communication major, added that she and Betancourt have plans to involve club members with the administration and provide them with knowledge and resources the clubs need to succeed.
Vice-presidential candidate Betancourt, a sociology major, stated during the debate that given the food insecurity at WSU Vancouver, every event planned by her and Cepeda will have food.
“Ana and I want to focus on food and housing insecurity,” Cepeda said in an interview with The VanCougar. Cepeda said the goal is to address these concerns with the administration, as well as expanding the Cougar Food Pantry.
At the debate, candidates Marander and Sise stated that their platform focuses on “building the campus into a community” and “being the voice for students.”
Presidential candidate Lindsay “Elle” Marander (right) and vice presidential candidate Naffisatou “Naffie” Sise (left) before the ASWSUV presidential candidate debate. (Cameron Kast/The VanCougar)
Marander, presidential candidate and a humanities major, said in an interview with The VanCougar, “I think we should all be sharing that [WSU Vancouver students] voice and that their voices need to be heard and represented. I want them to join their voices with ours.”
Marander later mentioned that she and Sise have ideas for a fair, including clubs and community groups. “As far as future events, if we are elected into office, I think it would be really important to implement a monthly social event,” she explained.
Her running mate, vice-presidential candidate Sise, a computer science major and math minor, said “I want our students to have more opportunities.” She added, “I think that not only inviting the community to our campus but going out to the community, especially for clubs, is so vital.”
At the debate, WSU Vancouver student Kay Hall asked the tickets how they plan to inspire and educate another generation of passionate and knowledgeable leaders.
Marander said she hopes to create an environment on campus that is communicable and kind, and Sise echoed her ideas of tying the campus and the community together.
Cepeda and Betancourt replied to Hall’s question by stating that it all comes down to proper communication and emphasizing getting WSU Vancouver students connected to the proper resources.
Hall, a history major, said she felt the debate went well, but wishes the candidates would have been more detailed with their replies.
“I feel like both sets of candidates really represent what we want to have here on campus,” Hall said. “I would’ve liked more specific policy positions [and] ideas for how to change things rather than general and overarching themes.”
Polling stations opened this morning and will remain open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today through Wednesday, March 6. Students can also vote online, here. Today’s polling stations are located outside of the Dengerink Administration building (VDEN) and on the patio of the Bookie. Tomorrow, March 5, polling stations will be located outside of the Undergraduate building (VUB) and the Dengerink Administration building (VDEN). On the last day of voting, polling stations will return to the patio in front of the Bookie and in the quad.