Voting and free food at ASG spring barbecue

Students eating free food at the barbecue.
Students eating free food at the barbecue. Alyssa Brown / The Watchdog

The annual Spring Barbecue hosted by the BC Associated Student Government occurred this Wednesday, April 19. The western-themed event featured free food, music, games and a car show. ASG states on its Facebook page that the Spring Barbecue achieved zero waste status, composting or recycling the trash that it generated. Approximately 3,000 students attend each year, according to the BC website.

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The event is meant to encourage awareness of ASG and voting in the election, and serves to generate “more attention for ASG,” said Valeriia Borodina, assistant to ASG and the former ASG Campus Life and Events representative. ASG aims to create more student involvement and interest in BC and advocates to improve students’ college experiences. “Today is the kickoff for the new election,” Borodina said. Every year students who want to implement changes at BC and represent the students run for ASG office. Elected representatives help create new policies at BC as well as attend various campus committees to promote their agendas. ASG representatives work with the official college governance to implement changes. The three ASG Board of Directors are elected positions. As the ASG website states, “It is [ASG’s] job to listen to your ideas, dreams, and concerns, and represent you to the official college governance.”

During the Spring Barbeque, students were encouraged to vote for next year’s ASG positions. Students can vote on Canvas until April 29 and election results will be released on May 10. BC student volunteer Tori Davis said, “this event creates publicity for ASG” so more students will become involved and vote in the current election.

BC students automatically become part of ASG when they first register for classes. ASG has substantial resources to implement the programs it determines are the most relevant for BC students. According to Canvas, “ASG is responsible for student-based accounts totaling more than $120,000.”

In this election, Michael Cha is running for ASG president for the upcoming school year. He is unopposed and has “been in ASG since early May.” Cha hopes to change BC by gaining “more student involvement on campus and more events.” He is running because he wants to “advocate for students more” and hopes to better BC after he becomes elected. Cha’s bio on the voting page goes on to explain “I feel I have what it takes to properly represent the students, while working with them at the same time. Students need a president willing to serve as their voice, to motivate them, and work tirelessly for them. While in office, I hope to inspire students to challenge themselves, their communities, and the world. Students have so much power to change so much, and I want to help them realize their potential for greatness.”

The candidates for Vice President Finance and Communication are Amber Castaneda and Trygve Vandal. According to Castaneda’s bio, she’s “passionate about cultural acceptance and combating xenophobia, bigotry, intolerance, and prejudice.” She is also a leader in DECA and the Study Abroad club. Vandal said that he “will refuse [his] salary until the tradition of taxing all students just to pay for the elite few is abolished.” He also “worked to save students over 5 million dollars in these types of fees,” according to his bio.

The candidates for Vice President Student Affairs and Pluralism are Vanno Knog and Lucy Su. Kong is “an ARMY veteran stationed at Joint Base Lewis McChord for almost 4 years,” and has “experience leading and organizing a large diverse group of people for a common goal,” according to his bio. Su is “an ambitious leader who is caring, outgoing and most importantly, [she] is accepting.” Su also has “been in a variety of leadership positions such as [her] high school badminton team captain or art teacher at a local studio.”

To learn more about each of these candidates, students can read about them on Canvas before voting.