With only two parties remaining in the ASUU elections, the FUSE Party and Forward Party will compete this week to secure key positions in the student government for next year.
In the primary elections, the FUSE Party received the most votes for all Associated Students of the University of Utah races: presidential, vice-presidential and senior class presidential, as well as ASUU Senate and General Assembly.
The Forward Party came in second in all races, with senior class presidential candidate Brittany Bell tying with More 4 U’s Megan Maxfield in their race.
FUSE presidential and vice-presidential candidates Spencer Pearson and Basim Motiwala received 1,529 votes and Forward candidates Rick Pehrson and Clayton McDonald received 971.
Calling last week a “dry run,” Pehrson said his party would make campaigning changes with tabling and phone trees.
“I can see that we’re the big underdogs in the race, but I believe in our cause and I believe in our platform and I believe we can do it,” Pehrson said.
Pearson and Motiwala said they would continue to stay the course as they proceed toward the general elections on Tuesday and Wednesday. They said they would keep reaching out to students on a personal basis.
“We will concentrate on our own platform and not what other parties are doing,” Motiwala said. “We are controllers of our own destiny?and we will continue to go into it with that same mentality.”
Focusing on its three main platform points-academic advising, campus communication and ASUU accountability-the FUSE Party said it will emphasize that its platform is not just about the Associated Students of the University of Utah.
Built upon the results of student surveys, Motiwala said the FUSE platform is about the student body as a whole, especially in regard to the “Graduation Guarantee” plan, which would offer advising to each student every semester to ensure that students graduate in four years and pay for tuition that exceeds that time.
“Education is the No. 1 reason we come to school,” Motiwala said.
While Pehrson said he has spoken a lot about platform changes that will happen “on paper” with programs and student government positions, this week he wants to emphasize the “feel of ASUU” that his party would create if elected.
Pehrson said he and his running mate, McDonald, would focus on supporting student groups and increasing student involvement in ASUU.
“My opinion is that 80 percent of the student fees set aside for ASUU are spent on 20 percent of the student body,” Pehrson said. “That’s a problem.”
To better represent and support U students, Pehrson said he and McDonald would like to be as involved and visible at student body events like former ASUU President Ali Hasnain, attending functions like women’s volleyball games and men’s basketball games.
Voting for general elections will begin Tuesday, March 13, at 7 a.m. and end Wednesday, March 14, at 10 p.m.
Kim PetersonRick Pehrson
Kim PetersonSpencer Pearson