The ASG forum began on Monday, April 27 between the candidates running for president, John Peppe and Joseph Root. Following the presidential forum, the candidates for the Vice President of Finance and Communication position, Chapmun Chung and Ayesha Pirbhai, were given a chance to speak, although only Chapmun Chung was able to attend. Also seen was the forum for the Vice President of Equity and Pluralism candidates. The candidates for this position are: Luis Sanchez, Fiona Liu, Steven Ferreira, Bridget Geopfert, Ribka Liona, and Yosua H. Nainggolan, although Ferreira, and Liona were unable to attend the forum.
Vicki Waiking ma and Dominic Lee were the monitors for the three-day forums. Waikingma’s opening question addressed to the presidential candidates was, “As an ASG President, what do you want to focus on?”
Root said, “I would focus on helping with funds because of the strong economic need right now, I intend to make ASG more visible and active on campus. ASG should seek out students not the other way around,”
Peppe discussed his opposition to new student fees. “Students already pay student parking, and other fees they are not aware of. We need to make the campus affordable,” he said.
Secondly, Waikingma asked, “What is your leadership style, and how will this personally support the whole ASG?”
Root explained that he leads through example, setting clearly defined goals and expectations.
Peppe said, “Teamwork is the art of collaborative solving, more than just management and goal setting. We need to understand and find out how we can help them help the team.”
VP of Finance and Communication candidate Chung explained that he will be more focused on the meaning and purpose of the clubs asking for funding for events, to determine whether the event’s feedback and audience will be strong enough to merit funding. Chung also explains how his communication style will help him connect with future team members and the student body. “ Right now the student government is on a high level. It needs to focus on becoming more friendly, having us come to you, [the students] and engage from the students to get opinions and feedback on what we can do to be stronger, and get what needs to be done accomplished,” said Chung.
The VP of Equity and Pluralism candidates take part in explaining whether they feel BC is a pluralistic college. “ I don’t think that right now we are focusing on just one kind of person, but I want us to focus on teamwork,” said Geopfert. Liu discusses how to have great diversity in the school we need more ethnic culture and to focus on the minorities that are being neglected. Nainggolan said, “I believe in diversity and we have that in clubs, we need willingness to work together, we have enough clubs already, now we have to control them. Pluralism is not pluralism without equity.”
Sanchez said that the position of the VP of Equity and Pluralism is to bring in the candidates experiences and make the moves significant. “I moved from another county, I have experienced it, it’s not just the students, the teachers here need help and a workshop, the faculty needs to be trained on teaching diversity,” said Sanchez.