Good ideas on the horizon in ASUI with Cowan, Holman
For this year’s ASUI presidential elections, the student body was fortunate to have great candidates.
No matter who won, the university would have been in good hands. Former ASUI President Max Cowan and Stetson Holman won the student body’s approval with about 41 percent of the votes.
It was a close and unpredictable race, with current ASUI President Nate Fisher and running mate Katie Cramer falling just under 200 votes behind Cowan’s ticket and Alejandra ‘Vivi’ Gonzales and Iziah Dolezal coming in third.
The campaign season was clean, competitive and engaging, and all the candidates should be commended for their efforts. Now the the election has been decided and it’s time to look forward at what those elected can do for the student body.
Cowan has a history and experience in ASUI. Looking forward, hopefully he can hit the ground running and accomplish a lot for students next year.
Since he has already gone through the process once, Cowan has a good sense of what can be accomplished with a year in office.
Quality, cost and campus life are the three topics on which Cowan and Holman built their platform.
They said they will work to help maintain the cost of higher education, including efforts to control rising tuition and revise the scholarship application process.
Having a student representative to advocate for student needs is important, especially when it comes to finances. Every student feels the impact of rising tuition and Cowan can work as an ally to help reduce the pain.
The pair also wants to improve the classroom experience by prioritizing classroom renovations, mandating online grade posting and enforcing dead week policies.
As we’re quickly approaching dead week and the end of the semester, the topic hits close to home for many students and may help provide for a smoother end of term in the future.
The last part of their platform for strengthening the UI community includes improving sexual assault prevention, promoting on-campus events, redistricting the ASUI Senate, strengthening municipal renter protections and supporting registered student organizations.
These tasks are not small, but if they’re achieved they will benefit the entire student body. Cowan’s vision will help connect UI and the various dimensions of the community.
The 2015-2016 academic year should be a productive and exciting year to watch in ASUI. One year from now, we hope this year sets a precedent for the student body’s engagement in ASUI elections.
Each presidential ticket included highly qualified candidates and students were divided on who they thought the best candidates were. This led to outstanding voter turnout that doubled the expectations of elections coordinators with 2400 votes cast.
The overwhelming voter turnout is encouraging and a testimony to student interest in the race, and a trend that should continue in the coming years.
It’s important for the student body to remain engaged and support the efforts of Cowan and Holman as they look to enhance the university and represent the student voice.
— KH