The Associated Students of the University of Idaho (ASUI) includes undergraduates at UI and every year one student is voted in as the voice of the students.
The ASUI president is voted on by the students in a university-wide election after campaigning around the campus, announcing policies and debating other candidates on those ideas.
At the end the spring 2019 semester, it was announced Jacob Lockhart and Faustine Moulton won the election for ASUI president and vice president.
“I really wanted to be not only a representative of that student voice, but to be a servant of that voice, and to do everything I could to translate what I’ve been hearing across campus into meaningful change for folks across campus,” Lockhart said.
Lockhart is a senior studying political science and minoring in economics, and is from Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. Moulton is a senior studying political science.
Kali Nelson | Argonaut
Jacob Lockhart, ASUI president shows a photo of him and past president Nicole Skinner when they were freshman after running for ASUI senate.
“I first became part of the student government my freshman year, and really enjoyed it,” Lockhart said. “I got a lot of value out of it and we did a lot of cool things to the run for president and it seemed like a natural next step.”
Lockhart credits Shawn O’Neal, the director of student involvement, with helping get him involved in student government and at UI in general.
“Well, I wanted to be involved,” Lockhart said. “And I remember my fist day coming into the department of student involvement and I met with the director, Shawn O’Neal. and I asked him.”
Lockhart said he learned about the senate and was drawn to it both because of his major and because he had been active in his high school’s student government, where he served as student body president his senior year.
“It’s a weird, weird world now,” he said.
Lockhart and Moulton met in the ASUI Senate and decided to run as a team after Moulton had spent about a year and a half on the senate.
“So Faustine is incredible to say the least, she was actually only in the senate for about a year and half before running. … She’s written so much legislation and been such a fierce advocate,” Lockhart said.
Their goals for the school year include putting Vandals first, prioritizing mental health on campus and being a voice for students, he said.
The job of ASUI president covers a wide variety of things, from attending cabinet and senate meetings to signing bills and resolutions sent from the senate and being a voice for students to the administration.
“You’ll see me speaking at things like UIdaho Bound, convocation and commencement,” Lockhart said. “All of those kind of events to provide student representation where they should be.”
The ASUI president works with the State Board of Education, providing student input and advocating on behalf of topics like mental health, financial accessibility and other bills which can affect students on campus.
Lockhart will be president for the upcoming school year and his office is located in the Department of Student Involvement in the Idaho Commons.
Kali Nelson can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @kalinelson6