[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]ASUU elections have begun, and students can vote on their CIS pages from March 2 to 5. Before the winners are announced on March 6, The Daily Utah Chronicle spoke to the presidential candidates from both parties about their platforms.
YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: U STUDENTS CREATE SKI GOGGLE BUSINESS 
 

Satin Tashnizi is the presidential candidate for the Empower Party and a junior in political science and economics.
 
Taylor Almond: What are your party’s main objectives?
Satin Tashnizi: We want to spread mental health awareness like a wildfire. I think it’s one of the most amazing and important issues in the nation now, [so we’re] initiating a task force to discuss and improve mental wellness.
TA: Aren’t there already resources for student mental health?
ST: We don’t want to just focus on extreme depression, extreme anxiety. We want to focus on the whole bell curve. The issue isn’t necessarily that we don’t have a counseling center, because when you have a medium for extreme illness, of depression or anxiety, [it] doesn’t mean you’ll access that resource. That’s the nature of the illness. We want to connect students to help.
TA: What’s the next part of your platform?
ST: We would like to have classroom lectures videotaped and available online for playback, so if you miss a day of class, you can watch the lecture again. They currently do this at Utah State; we just want to bring it to the U.
TA: What else are you planning?
ST: [We’re] continuing the It’s on Us campaign. We’re bringing polling locations to campus. It would be amazing to register college students and have them vote in a few minutes … That’s already been worked out with the county clerk … the mayor is very supportive, and the legislature is supportive. We’re [also] working with Chartwells [the U’s dining service] to take unused food and give it to the community.
 

Ambra Jackson, presidential candidate for the Snow Party, junior in strategic communications:
Taylor Almond: What are your party’s main objectives?
Ambra Jackson: Our goal is an administration that actively pursues realistic and student-driven policies, ideas and initiatives. We recognize the experience needed for a successful student government that addresses student concerns. Our three platforms are centered on concrete initiatives that can be accomplished in one year. Our party is running off three ideas:
Integrate — We want to create a Student Leader Council (a council that would consist of the main student organizations that range from LDSSA, Greek Council, UPC, RHA, Student Alumni [and] the MUSS Board, to name a few) to meet throughout the year to discuss issues and provide each other with updates. We also want to bring back Mayfest for a music festival once a year instead of doing two concerts in the school year.
Inform — This includes creating a transparent insight into student fees and also increasing the awareness of legislative activities. We also like to actively work with the administration to ensure students are represented in all university committees.
Improve Campus Climate — We want to tailor diversity needs based on equity. We also want to work on sexual assault, specifically through bystander intervention. We also want to create another position for another victim advocate since there is only one currently. This would allow us to take action against sexual assault since the It’s on Us campaign has created awareness for our campus.
 
TA: How are you going to achieve that?
AJ: Our platforms are achievable because we have done the necessary research with our current campus resources. We are also an experienced group of student leaders who know how ASUU works from the executive branch to the legislative process. This will allow us to spend more of our term implementing change, instead of figuring out how ASUU works, as most candidates have to once they are elected.
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@SeymourSkimmer
Disclaimer: Chris Samuels, assistant photo editor of The Daily Utah Chronicle, took photos for the Snow Party.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]