Four of a dozen people vying for ASUI Senate seats were present at the first of three Senate election open forum Monday.
Freshmen Ivan Castillo and Joe Garrett were joined at the forum by Drew Gonzalez a transfer student from San Jose and current ASUI Sen. Jesse Smith who is seeking another term.
The forum started with a question from ASUI Election Coordinator Denessey Rodriguez, asking candidates why they thought enrollment at the University of Idaho is down, and what they think should be done.
“I came from San Jose State, and I think as an off-campus resident there is a disconnect,” Gonzalez said. “We need to make the university feel like an actual family and not just students that come to campus.”
Gonzales said he is running on a platform focused on proper representation of students and advocating for mental health improvements across campus.
Garret said he is running for ASUI Senate because he wants to increase civic engagement and cohesion among student across campus.
“This is a very Greek prevalent university, and I think that the Greek communities and residence halls need to be immersed,” Garrett said. “You come here and go Greek and only associate with Greek peers or vice versa.”
Candidates were also asked about student safety on campus and how it could be approved. All four candidates agreed that the lighting across campus could be greatly improved.
“To feel more safe, you have to feel comfortable. … We need to tackle this by increasing mental health advising,” Garrett said. “The more comfortable you feel in a situation the more safe you are.”
Castillo said he feels that the Counseling and Testing Center is the most useful resource on campus.
“We all need help,” Castillo said. “We all need people in our lives to help us and support us.”
Smith said if he was re-elected, his first action would be to continue to push a bill to repeal UI’s tobacco free status. Smith has already proposed this bill to the current Senate and said he hopes a new group of senators would push the bill through.
Other candidates running for the eight open Senate seats are Jonah Baker, Ivan Castillo, Emilia Carillo, Sean Malone, Ismael Mendoza, Faustine Moulton, Riley Ragain and Sierra Rothermich.
There will be two more open forums from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. on Tues. Nov 6 and Weds Nov. 7. There will also be a meet-and-treat open house to speak to candidates from 11:30 to 1 p.m. Oct 31 in the Idaho Commons Whitewater Room.
Ellamae Burnell can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @EllamaeBurnell