Bridging the gap between Greek Life and the general student body, a number of candidates share similar goals as they hope to be elected into the ASUI Senate.
Hayden Cassinelli
Hayden Cassinelli, a freshman studying finance, is running for a seat in the ASUI Senate. One of the platforms that Cassinelli looks to accomplish is mending the relationship between those living in the dorms and those choosing to live in Greek houses.
Looking at the current senate, Cassinelli said that he is impressed by the work that has been done with, at some points, very few senators. However, when it comes to ASUI, discussing politics has been an issue.
“I hope to bring a different perspective to the senate and counter this,” Cassinelli said. “While it might lose me votes, I’m not ashamed to say that I am a conservative and a Christian and will be voting as such on political matters.”
Mason Stampfli
Driven to improve the lives of students attending UI, Stampfli is running on a multitude of platforms. Improving student turnout, recycling on campus, types of food and infrastructure are some of the many things this candidate hopes to bring to ASUI.
One aspect of student life that Stampfli focused on is Greek life and the need to have events that regenerate the spirit of the Greek community. He hopes to do more events based on myth and the history of Greek life.
Jimmy Leggett
Jimmy Leggett is a junior studying English hoping to leave UI in a better shape than when he first arrived.
Looking at the current state of the ASUI, Leggett has found an issue with the lack of notable resolutions. Most of the ones seen over the past year have been more reactionary and unsubstantial.
“It has a reputation for pushing extremely opinionated policies,” Leggett said. “The ASUI senate needs a wake-up call: a zap by the spirit of courage and zeal.”
Leggett hopes, if he is elected, that ASUI can become a medium for students to be able to lobby both the school and senate on important topics.
“The only way for the senate to attain this authority is by following precedent, procedure and sound governing philosophies,” Leggett said.
Jared Sherman
Former ASUI senator Jared Sherman is once again throwing his hat into the ring to continue his work last semester.
Sherman, a junior studying human resource management and a member of Greek life, hopes to bridge the gap between those living in Greek houses and those living in the dorms.
“I really hope to continue working on projects such as the events of the Thank-A-Thon, that connects our donors to our students,” Sherman said. “Hopefully increasing the amount of scholarships we have available to students, not to mention the better relationship from our students to our alumni.”
Nathaniel Rawlings
A freshman from Nampa, Nathaniel Rawlings is currently studying global disease ecology.
Rawlings is hoping to work on connecting Greek life with the rest of the student body.
He will work on “making the organizations more approachable to those unfamiliar with the formal and informal recruitment, and the Greek system as a whole,” Rawlings said. “It could also encourage unaffiliated, general students on campus to participate in Greek philanthropy events.”
Using UC Davis as an example of what UI’s recycling program can be more environmentally sustainable campus.
“The university generally is clean, but could always be a little cleaner,” Rawlings said. “Implementing such programs would make the university easier on the eyes and the environment.”
Alexandra Gomez
Alexandra Gomez is a junior anthropology major from Fruitland, Idaho. In a statement, Gomez said that her primary goal is to ensure that the UI campus provides a safe and welcoming environment for both current and incoming students.
Gomez said she is also looking to change student involvement on campus to better allow the university to feel more like a “second home.”
Anya Zuercher
Anya Zuercher is a freshman from Twin Falls, Idaho. Her platform consists of five key issues: mental health support, student involvement, campus safety, sustainability and community involvement.
To address mental health support, Zuercher said that she will “push for increased funding for mental health resources on campus.”
In terms of her broad goals, Zuercher says that she will work to allow students to have a say in ASUI decisions.
As a solution to her concerns on campus safety, Zuercher suggests that “safe buttons” be installed throughout campus to allow for students in a potentially unsafe situation to request immediate help at a location that is near to them.
For sustainability, Zuercher says that she will work to further the efforts to bring recycling to residential areas on campus as well as strive to make trash cans easily accessible on all areas of the campus.
To address lacking community involvement, Zuercher says that she will work to create more events on campus that will allow the community to get involved and ultimately strengthen the bond between the university and the population of Moscow.
Emma Johnston
Emma Johnston is a criminology and psychology major from Merced, California.
With prior experience as a senator for ASUI, Johnston is centering Vandal pride in her campaign.
To address Vandal pride, Johnston is looking to offer students more incentives to attend sporting events as well as additional opportunities for students to connect through outdoor activities.
On-campus dining is an additional concern for Johnston, who hopes to work directly alongside Idaho Eats to bring healthy and diverse eating alternatives to campus.
Luella Smith
A transfer student from Boise State University, Smith firstly acknowledged that “everyone makes mistakes.” Using this background, however, Smith hopes to create more events designed for transfer students specifically by focusing on the shared unfamiliarity of a new campus environment.
Having worked previously to implement harm-reduction measures on college campuses, Smith highlighted Narcan, a spray used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose, as a significant contributor to harm-reduction efforts.
Mo Jabril
Mo Jabril is a freshman civil engineering major from Boise, Idaho and a member of Greek life.
Looking to keep an ear to the ground for students, Jabril said that he wishes to make the needs of the student body heard and has proposed providing students with up-to-date information on the campus housing spaces whenever available as one way to make this possible.
Nikhil Gill
Nikhil Gill is a sophomore medical sciences major from Gurdaspur, Punjab, India.
An international student himself, Gill is hoping to provide UI’s international students with a representative who can voice their concerns. To help create an inclusive campus environment, Gill said that he is looking to improve ASUI’s outreach to international and minority students to allow them to play a bigger role in the decisions that ASUI makes.
More generally, Gill said that he believes “cross-cultural experiences” are integral to making a college experience that best it can be. To accomplish this, Gill hopes to start by “building bridges” among the multitude of groups on campus to bring about an environment that “celebrates diversity.”
Check out the presidental candidate profile on Tanner McClain and Peyton Loffer here.
Students can vote via an email sent out by ASUI. The email will feature links to vote for Senate and presidential candidates.
Royce McCandless and Daniel V. Ramirez can be reached at [email protected]