ASG presidential and vice presidential candidates
Catherine Silvey / Feature Editor / The USD Vista
Celina Tebor / Associate Editor / The USD Vista
Spring semester is racing by, and the students of USD will soon decide who will become their 2020-2021 Associated Student Government president and vice president. Four Toreros have come forward as potential candidates, each with a different mission to change USD for the better. Below, these students share why they decided to run and their plans for the school if elected.
ASG Presidential Candidates
Joey Abeyta
Junior Joey Abeyta has one clear message in his campaign for ASG President: I will listen to you.
The political science major with an economics minor was born in San Diego, but grew up in New Mexico. He’s been involved in student government since high school: he was the president of his first year, sophomore, and junior class in high school and went on to become the student body president senior year.
He also has the political experience of interning with a congressman in New Mexico. This experience taught him the true ins and outs of what it’s like to serve as an elected official.
“I think my experience working in a congressional office really helped me,” Abeyta said. “I understand the importance of truly listening to the people that disagree. It’s tough to have someone who will look past the criticism and see what needs to be done on behalf of the people that they’re serving. No matter how intense they are, no matter how mad they are at me, I will recognize that I am their servant.”
Abeyta hasn’t been a member of ASG before, but believes his previous government experience as well as his experience as a former student athlete and being in a fraternity will prove his work ethic.
“I don’t know everything, or anything at all — not to sound like Socrates or anything,” Abeyta said. “I bring the diverse student lifestyle to ASG.”
He hopes that the knowhow of those already in ASG combined with his previous experience and commitment to the position will be able to bring about a successful administration for the 2020-2021 school year.
“I do recognize that my lack of experience in ASG might turn them off,” Abeyta said. “That being said, there’s no way of getting around it. In order to be a president at any level, there has to be a sense of organization, open mindedness, adaptability. When you don’t know something and someone else does, you’ve got to help them out.”
There were a few main goals Abeyta lifted up that he wants to accomplish if elected ASG President. The first is restoring the College Readership Program, which, in full, provides digital and print access to newspapers for students.
“The College Readership Program is something I used a lot my freshman year,” Abeyta said. “It’s an incredible resource. I would really, really want to restore that.”
In addition, he wants to find a solution for the limited parking that will affect students next school year. He also hopes to improve communication between USD administration, ASG, and the general USD student body.
“I think I want to try and lay the groundwork for an infrastructure so we can make that communication more coherent,” Abeyta said. “Because in the end, we all have the same goal: that is, students thriving after college in whatever field they choose.”
Abeyta wants to increase overall advertising of ASG Senate, as it was something he wasn’t even aware of his first few years at USD. If he wins ASG President, he’s also considering a city council-style platform, in which the student body and administration can have time to bring forth suggestions to ASG.
“I want the student body to be aware, and I know that’s a difficult task,” Abeyta said. “I really want just to emphasize the openness and welcomeness and the importance that this role plays in everyday lives. And if they don’t voice their opinions, stuff like the College Readership Program gets taken out of their lives.”
Rowan Parmenter
After taking a year off from ASG, junior Rowan Parmenter is determined to be a force of change if elected, hoping to take on the role of president for his senior year at the University of San Diego.
An international business major with a political science minor from Wenatchee, Washington, Parmenter has been involved in ASG since his first year at USD, acting as the residential senator for Maher Hall and the Alcalá Vistas during his first two years of college. When he left the USD campus in Fall 2019 to study abroad, Parmenter recalled that he had no intentions of returning to student government, but changed his mind when he thought about running for ASG president.
“I went abroad last semester, so I took a break and came back determined not to do AS again,” Parmenter said. “Down the line of when thinking about running, I just felt called to run because I think that we’ve lacked a little bit of consistent leadership, and I feel like I did provide that.”
Parmenter’s platform is centered around one mission — connecting ASG with the rest of the student body through transparency. Parmenter noted that the importance of this issue to him emerged while a senator last year.
“One of the things that was really evident to me last year in ASG is that students just don’t know what’s going on,” Parmenter said. “Increasing the whole transparency of student government is really my major goal.”
Parmenter further emphasized how important it was to him to let students know where their money is going, what ASG is doing with it, and how it is being used to make student lives better at USD.
“Each student pays $250 to ASG,” Parmenter said. “I want students to get the most value out of that that they can, and I want them to know that we’re being good stewards of their money.”
One way Parmenter wants to implement this is by bringing back the College Readership Program, an incentive he fought for during his second year with ASG.
“We’ll bring that back because I think a lot of people are really passionate about that and fought for that,” Parmenter said. “Then I’ll instruct my team to find other issues students really care about. I think there’s a lot to do within ASG to shift it from an inward focus to an outward focus and actually serving the students.”
Between two years as a senator in ASG and taking on leadership roles in his fraternity, Parmenter notes that not only his leadership experience but also his admiration of USD has prepared him for the role of ASG president.
“I’ve had a fantastic experience at USD, and in a lot of different ways,” Parmenter said. “I’ve had a pretty broad experience at USD and know that it’s a really great school. My admiration makes me qualified, but also my experience as well.”
Ultimately, Parmenter wants students to choose the president they believe in and trust to represent them.
“I’m totally fine if I don’t win, but I think I really could do the best job available,” Parmenter said. “But at the end of the day, it’s about who they feel comfortable leading the student government and who they really want in charge of their student activity fee.”
ASG Vice Presidential Candidates
Justin Daus
Junior Justin Daus wants to be the next ASG Vice President, and he has a four-pronged platform that he hopes will take him there.
An industrial and systems engineering major, Daus initially did not see himself involved in student government at USD. However, after joining ASG during this school year as a school of engineering academic senator, Daus developed a passion for serving his community and began taking on more responsibilities.
“I initially didn’t have any goals of running for vice president,” Daus said. “It was when I joined student government this year and I was able to be a part of the process that I found I was able to help out the campus community. I really like advocating for other students and listening to them. I got a small taste of that this year with a couple of things that were going on on campus and I got immediately hooked. I feel like specifically being in the role of vice president would enable me to continue that process in a much greater way.”
Daus’ enthusiasm led him to join the academics committee in ASG, later becoming the chair of the committee.
“The inbox is always coming in with professors and deans and other students asking questions, especially with this remote learning change right now,” Daus said.
Recently, Daus and the academics committee played a part in ensuring that all undergraduate students receive a “pass-fail” option for spring semester classes to alleviate some of the stress remote learning has caused. Additionally, the committee is responsible for academic grant review, a process in which they allocate funds to student research endeavors.
Daus’ platform is based on four key components — academics, transparency, inclusion, and mental health.
Daus plans to increase and improve academic resources for students, including developing more academic means grants, which helps students access necessary equipment and supplies for their courses.
Additionally, Daus aims to improve transparency in ASG, namely by making the ASG budget available to all students. He also wants to promote a more inclusive university environment, especially in wake of the hate crime that occurred on campus last semester.
Lastly, Daus emphasized the importance of mental health as a cornerstone of his platform, stating that now more than ever students are in need of support and care.
“It’s a stressful time,” Daus said. “College is already stressful enough — now we’re dealing with a global pandemic. There’s students who maybe have a hard family situation, students who are worried about rent, students worried about their internships over the summer, students that don’t know if they’re going to be able to study abroad. All that encompasses more than just their online classes.”
Daus asserts that his experience in a variety of extracurricular and activities gives him the versatility for the position of vice president. Daus explained that his participation in ROTC taught him how to work toward team-oriented goals and in high stress scenarios, while coaching a local soccer team in his free team taught him patience and the importance of a caring approach.
“I’ve been able to know how to strive and achieve what I want to achieve,” Daus said. “I’ve also been in a position where I need to slow down and listen to the needs of people around me. Because of that balance, I feel like I could bring something to the table that wasn’t approached before.”
Daus specifically had a message for Toreros struggling during this time, assuring that he understands what they are feeling and wants to work to make this stressful time more bearable.
“I want students to know that, whatever they’re feeling — feelings of stress, anxiety, unease, worry, sadness — it’s okay, and I’m feeling it too,” Daus said. “I think that there’s a strength to solidarity.”
Andrew Schneider
With a campaign statement of “Inspire. Include. Unite,” junior Andrew Schneider hopes to lead the University of San Diego campus as ASG Vice President, equipped with ample leadership experience and a vision of a more accessible campus.
Schneider is a political science major with an ethnic studies minor from Columbus, Ohio. Schneider first attended The Ohio State University, but transferred to USD this school year.
Schneider shared that he has been involved in student government since being elected student body president in middle school, gradually developing a desire to pursue a career in politics. One pivotal experience was attending Buckeye Boys State, a program supported by the American Legion in which high school students learn leadership skills and how the Ohio government functions.
“I always had a passion for student government and government and politics in general,” Schneider said. “I was involved in student government in middle school and high school, and when I got to USD, I decided to get involved in ASG.”
Upon transferring to USD, Schneider immediately became involved with ASG as a senator, eventually becoming a member of the Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Committee. As a senator, Schneider noticed things about ASG that he thought needed change.
“Talking to students not currently involved in ASG, a big thing that has come up is transparency and communication from ASG members and low student involvement and election participation,” Schneider said. “So I think we could really address that by increasing communication between the Exec Board and the general student body and creating transparency in areas such as making the ASG Budget public to anyone who wants to see it.”
Schneider’s role as a member of the Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Committee, as well as his own experience using a wheelchair, led him to discover accessibility concerns all around the USD campus and become determined to resolve these issues.
“Coming from Ohio State, it’s a lot better at USD,” Schneider said. “But I really think we can make USD into kind of an example of accessibility for schools around the U.S. with a couple of minor changes.”
An example of such a change would be installing automatic buttons for doors more consistently around campus. Schneider cited the absence of such buttons in certain locations could be particularly challenging to wheelchair users.
“One big thing I think about is the entry way to get into the One Stop Student Center,” Schneider said. “The doors are pretty heavy and there are not any automatic buttons to get in, which is potentially a barrier for wheelchair users.”
Additionally, Schneider has an idea to create an application form for reporting maintenance issues that hinder accessibility on campus. This would create an alternative to phone calls, which themselves can be inaccessible to students who are hard of hearing.
With an extensive background in student government and a mission to change the accessibility of USD for the better, Schneider hopes to be able to use his skills to take on the role of ASG Vice President.
“I have a lot of leadership experience, and I really wanted to be able to bring the unique experience of somebody who has to deal with accessibility issues or issues in inclusion and diversity on campus,” Schneider said. “I think that’s a really important voice to have on the Exec Board.”
Schneider’s ultimate goal is to bring the campus together and to make sure students of all demographics feel heard and represented.
“I want them to know that, no matter what group they’re from, what their identity is, whether it’s socioeconomic status, ethnicity, ability, anything — I want to hear their perspective on things,” Schneider said. “I will always have my door open to anybody that wants to come in and discuss anything. And I can’t promise to be perfect all the time, but I will definitely do my best to represent everyone.”
ASG elections will take place on April 16 and 17 through the “mySanDiego” student portal. Students can also watch a virtual debate featuring the presidential and vice presidential candidates on April 15 via the ASG instagram, @usd_asg.