The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

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List of Associated Students candidates (continued)

Brianna Wilcox: College of Health & Human Development

Q&A

How do you plan to tackle the issues we’re having with hazing?

I plan to work the Matador Involvement Center and use tactics that they would have as for next year. They have made most change their constitutions, to make sure that they don’t implement any hazing, and make sure they are more inclusive. I don’t think hazing is okay with any organization, or club. I’m just making sure we’re more aware of the situation and make sure we have more of the say out there to push that we are against hazing.

What is your plan to aid in the efforts to prevent sexual assault?

Following President Harrison’s mandatory online training, I think utilizing that and being more aware of situations and making sure that we’re working with the Department of Police Services as well to initiate the new 911 text system that makes the timing to call campus police faster than calling 911. With the new app that is coming out next Fall, the app will allow direct calling to campus police.

With the recent issues surrounding our fraternities on campus, do you plan to allocate funds to fraternity groups or even sorority groups? If yes, how do you do this in a way where you are not condoning bad behavior, like hazing?

I don’t think it is fair to fully suspend all money from all fraternities, and sororities especially those that haven’t been involved in any activities like hazing. We do view them as senators we do go over their funding request and contact to make sure all funds are going to events that benefit their fraternity or sorority and other students alike so its more inclusive for students, and also that we don’t fund any outside activities.

Describe the plans you wish to accomplish in your office and how you will implement them.

I want to make sure that we have great opportunities for the students. I’ve implemented a new plan for more skateboard racks on campus. We have a large skating community and I’ve written a resolution to have more skateboard racks next semester. Alongside the new 911 app, I want to work on the parking issue on campus by developing an app as well as developing a system that allows students to know when the next shuttle will be arriving. I think that would be great for the students.

How can you improve upon the achievements of your predecessor?

In the past I know my predecessors have advocated for the students at State and Capital level. I hope to be that liaison for the students to come talk to me. I like to make myself readily available and not push myself away. I like to talk to students, even in classrooms, so hopefully I can be that liaison for the students to the administration, and be in full support of what students want just push until they give it to us. Our students are our first interest, and I know that if one student benefits from something another student will also benefit from it. As a student leader, I will advocate for the students.

What experiences or education makes you qualified for this office?

I currently serve as the senator for, I’ve worked in New Student Orientation, I have worked for the SRC since it opened while being apart of multiple clubs on campus. I have the leadership role that is ready to taken on the task that advocates for students. As I current senator, and one who shares a passion for helping others, I push for more funding, services and safety for students.

How will you ensure that AS stays within its budget and provides adequate funding to organizations and clubs on campus next year?

I will be looking at the finance request and make sure that they are all in reasonable means so that we don’t favor one club over the other and give a fair quanity of money to each budget as nesscessary. I don’t think favoring is fair. But if something needs a little more funding, I think pushing for a little more and while not going over budget so when the next club ask for funding we will still be able to allocate funds.

 Lucy Rodriquez: College of Health & Human Development

 Valerie Leal: College of Health & Human Development

My name is Valerie Leal and I am a kinesiology major who aspires to be a sports physical therapist upon graduation. I am running for Health and Human Development Senator. After many years of being involved in the planning of school activities and programs, I have developed a passion to help others. As a Peer Health Educator and as the current Health and Human Development senator, I have worked to help the student population by enhancing their experience at CSUN. Moving forward I plan on implementing new programs and ideas that help fulfill the students’ needs. As a returning senator, my goal is to continue to support the college’s mission and strive for academic quality and community involvement. I welcome and look forward to the comments and suggestions from the students in order to improve the quality of the programs and services provided.

Q&A

How do you plan to tackle the issues we’re having with hazing?

As part of the AS we work really closely with the USU and we have a campaign going on right now “Change your words and change the world,” which is just a campaign about being inclusive. We always have trainings about inclusiveness and inclusive language, it’s really important at CSUN, since we have a huge diversity with the LGBT community and ethnicities, so it’s a really important issue because there is a lot of hazing in these communities. We can tackle this by continuing these hazing trainings because it’s really important to have that knowledge in order to not offend anyone at all, sometimes things can be said without knowing, so it’s important for the knowledge. In AS we represent all students and we should know how students want to be referred to as.

What is your plan to aid in the efforts to prevent sexual assault?

One thing I participated in was the “It’s on you” campaign, which is against sexual assault; we made a video and posted it on YouTube to spread awareness. So it was important to be a part of that campaign. We also support project D.A.T.E and their cause, whom are one of the university counseling centers that present on sexual assault. We just allocated them a couple thousands of dollars to put on an event coming in spring, so we fully support the prevention and spreading of awareness of sexual assault because we take that very seriously.

With the recent issues surrounding our fraternities on campus, do you plan to allocate funds to fraternity groups or even sorority groups? If yes, how do you do this in a way where you are not condoning bad behavior, like hazing?

The issue with advocating money to fraternities is that not every fraternity is the same. They’re all different, just because one fraternity did one act of hazing doesn’t mean all should suffer, I am not a part of the Greek community but I do support them. They’re students, they deserve to ask for money. I don’t think because of one fraternity they all should suffer, of course we would make sure we feel comfortable with it and our senate as well. That’s because we all have to vote on it. A large portion of our senate is in Greek life and they’re all amazing people and I just think that it’s fair for them to all have the right to ask for funds, it depends on what they’re asking the funds for. Part of our job as a senator is to do research, I would do research, talk to those members, talk to their president, or whoever is asking for the funds. If I have any questions, I would get all the information. If I felt uncomfortable with any fraternity I would not be afraid to ask them questions that they would have to answer. Hazing is also taken care of by our school president Diane Harrison; it’s not just AS.

Describe the plans you wish to accomplish in your office and how you will implement them.

I’m running as the college of health and human development senator, as a candidate one of my main goals is to bring together all of the departments under that college. I am kinesiology major. There are different departments I can get a masters degree in. I feel like a lot of students are not aware of that or the great opportunities we have. One of my main goals is to work closely with all the deans of all departments, have events together, bring in guest speakers, bring us all together to be aware of all of our resources that are provided, such as internships or even counseling.

How will students benefit from your work in office?

Students would benefit from my work in office because if I am successful in what I want to accomplish, and I will try my best, they will benefit from other opportunities that they didn’t know they could have. I want to make sure they know about AS. I’m going to work closely with the president and vice president, and continue the 100 classrooms in 100 days, which are presentations about A.S. There are so many students who want to start a club, but need marketing for it, and also funds. They can see how they can start and promote a club here on campus. I’m going to work really hard on those things.

How can you improve upon the achievements of your predecessor?

I’m actually currently the senator of college and human development now, so I’m looking to be re-elected. I’ve been in this position since last March. I was re-elected this past year, but something I can improve on is really doing more presentations, such as going up in front of my own classrooms, asking professors about presenting information about upcoming events. I did that for the farmers market and the upcoming elections. I could also get my peers involved in these activities that I’m involved in, and also my classmates. That would be one thing I would want to keep doing. Another improvement would be going out and asking for suggestions, encouraging students to come up to me and tell me what they want. They don’t know how to do that, I want to be that person in between who can tell these people what they can do. I want to let students know that their ideas can really become something.

What experiences or education makes you qualified for this office?

Well, I am currently the senator; I’ve been in AS since last March. I’ve learned a lot and I know the steps that need to be taken. I was a part of J.A.D.E (Joint advocates on disordered eating); I am also a peer health educator for the university-counseling center. I am also in the student health advisory committee in the KLOTZ student health center, as well as a peer health educator in the living well lounge. I work for the USU at the SRC, so being a part of all these things has made me grow, I’ve learned how CSUN works, and being a part of AS I’ve grown as a leader. I’ve had the chance to get to know the administration and we’ve even had lunches with President Diane Harrison. I have that experience as to how things work, how CSUN works, and how I could really help students. I’ve seen students who come up to us and ask about money and ideas and I’ve learned how we can put those ideas into action.

How will you ensure that AS stays within its budget and provides adequate funding to organizations and clubs on campus next year?

Every year we have a budget hearing, this is the time where we invite each club and organization to this hearing in order for them to tell us how much money they may need for the year. They can give us an idea of all of their events, and by doing that we are able to really budget the money we get. One way to ensure that AS stays in our budget is by making sure that our chair of finance reaches out to everyone. Something we can do is encourage people to come so we know how to allocate to them. Throughout the semester, some clubs or organizations do ask for more money, and we go by past records and budget to know what we need for the school year.

What about the incident with the approval of planting roses during a drought?

There was a resolution that was being passed during our senate meeting. The resolution was for the tradition of the rose, it could be for anyone whom ever has something to celebrate about, they may have reached a goal and they can get a rose and place it at the foot of the matador statue. Under that resolution there was a section that said we should plant roses whenever possible. One of our senators raised their hand and said it’s not a great idea because roses need a lot of water and we are in a drought. She did raise the question, I’m pretty sure that I voted against it, meaning I didn’t want the roses to be planted. We already have a good amount of greenery; we don’t really need roses in particular. The counter argument that was brought up said that it would only be whenever possible. It’s not that we are going to start planting roses everywhere, to be able to do that there would have to be a whole process that would have to be approved anyway. It did pass with that phrase. This does not mean that we will start planting roses around campus, but whenever the environment is in the conditions for it then we would. If we still have issues with the drought, we are very conscious of this, and we will be taking that into consideration.


 

 

Stacey Aguila: College of Education

My name is Stacey Aguila, I am a junior majoring in Deaf Studies running for the position of AS Senator of Education. I am running along side the slate Strength In Unity, because we share a set of values and goals that we will strive to achieve if elected. I, along with the rest of our slate want to focus on communication, sustainability, opportunity, and campus experience. I am personally running because I believe that during my time at CSUN I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience that will help me serve as a senator and bring positive change to our campus. As a freshman, I got involved with AS Productions as a Student Assistant and have since become familiar with the different departments within Associated Students. My involvement with various organizations on campus such as Delta Delta Delta Sorority, has positively impacted my experience as a CSUN student and has taught me a lot about the importance of campus involvement. As a senator, I want to promote campus involvement and create ways in which students feel a personal connection with CSUN. In addition, as a proud Matador, I want to boost school spirit. Through my experiences, I have noticed that there is a lack of student engagement with the campus as a whole. If elected as senator, my goal is to not only make students aware, but to encourage them to take advantage of the different resources available to them. I will focus on encouraging the student body to express their concerns and I will focus on resolving them.

How do you plan to tackle the issues we’re having with hazing?

I think part of that is really educating people and letting people know that it’s something that’s not okay and obviously that any of us, or CSUN or Associated Students call it, so I think that making sure people know that’s it’s no tolerance and spreading the word out more and keeping a closer eye on the Greek system and other organizations.

With the recent issues surrounding our fraternities on campus, do you plan to allocate funds to fraternity groups or even sorority groups? If yes, how do you do this in a way where you are not condoning bad behavior, like hazing?

Just because they’re Greek organizations doesn’t mean we’re going to allocate or not allocate. I think there’s a process that each organization has to go through and I think as long as they successfully go through that process, then I don’t see why we shouldn’t, but like I said before, just because they’re Greek doesn’t mean we’re going to give them more or less or whatnot. In addition to that, when they go through the process of applying for these funds, there are certain things that they can use that money for and they can’t, so as long as they’re using it the right way, which most of them do, then, I don’t see a problem with allocating it to them.

Describe the plans you wish to accomplish in your office and how you will implement them.

I’m part of the [Strength in Unity] campaign and we have the same visions and goals and we’ve been mentioning this throughout our whole campaign process, we have four pillars which are opportunity, sustainability, communication and campus experience and we want to emphasize on our goals within each pillar like making a better system for parking and increasing AS Awareness and starting new programs to get students more involved on campus.

What experiences or education makes you qualified for this office?

I’ve been involved with Associated Students for about two years now, so I know kind of how things work and the people—like the professional staff who work there—and the processes of everything. And with that, I’m involved with working with organizations on campus, so I know different students from different backgrounds. I consider myself as a diverse student, so I can relate to different students, so I think I have potential for this position.


 

Heston Jayasinghe: College of Engineering & Computer Science

Melissa Ayral: College of Engineering & Computer Science

My name is Melissa Ayral and I am a third year Mechanical Engineering student. I would be honored to be elected Senator, for the College of Engineering and Computer Science. In this position, I will work my hardest to provide new and exciting opportunities for our engineering and computer science students.

Some ideas I have for this coming school year include posting engineer jokes around our college. While studying for midterms, we can always use a good laugh. Also, a few times during the year I would have Popcorn Friday.

Thank you for considering me for the Senator, for the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

Q&A

With the recent issues surrounding our fraternities on campus, do you plan to allocate funds to fraternity groups or even sorority groups? If yes, how do you do this in a way where you are not condoning bad behavior, like hazing?

My sister was in a sorority and my brother was in a fraternity and they both really enjoyed it and they both support good causes and non-profit organizations. My sister keeps in touch with her sorority sisters, you know, there’s a good side to every organization. Students understand that they’re not joining and encountering the bad aspects.

How will students benefit from your work in office?

First of all, I’m a woman and there are very few of us in engineering. I’ve been the only girl in the class of 45 students, so I bring a different perspective. I have a lot of personality and excitement and stuff I share even with new students—we obviously have a lot of international students and they’re not used to us. I just have a lot of joy and get people excited and just run down the hall and give people high fives and, you know! I want everyone to enjoy their time here at CSUN and I think I can bring that to office.

Describe the plans you wish to accomplish in your office and how you will implement them.

Engineering and computer science majors study a lot, so when I had test as a freshman, I saw this engineering joke on the wall and it made me feel good, so I think it’s good to have, you know, every other week or every two weeks just another joke to make you feel good inside. Also, because we’re math people, I was thinking of having a jar of candy, we’ll discuss how many candies are in the jar—it’ll be fun and people will get into it. Also, I was thinking, like maybe Popcorn Friday once a month or every two months or something since people like to eat. It’ll get people to know each other within their classes and stuff.

What experiences or education makes you qualified for this office?

I’m a very dedicated student—I’m very dedicated to anything I do spend time with. I don’t skip classes, I go to office hours, I go to tutoring and whatnot. I don’t want to waste people’s time and I don’t want them to waste my time and when I join something, I’m in it for the long-haul.


 

 

Corensa Eisenlord: College of Science & Math

Issac Simon: College of Science & Math

Kimberly Worland: College of Science & Math

Thuy Tran: College of Science & Math

Hello Matadors,

My name is Thuy Tran. I am currently a sophomore working toward my bachelor degree in Chemistry. I am running for the Senate position of College of Science and Mathematics. If selected as a senator, I would play an important role in finding common ground and providing leadership on campus. It is my pleasure to represent my fellow Math and Science students to voice any needs that will create the best college experience for them. I had been a very active member since I was in high school. I was not only part of Yearbook and Associated Student Body, but also a club president. My desire is to encourage other pupils like myself to become more responsible and involved in their communities as well as to utilize their language skills in order to educate people about our diverse cultures. I want to be the change. I want to become a symbol of inspiration and strength of our College.

Q&A

How do you plan to tackle the issues we’re having with hazing?

For the hazing problem, I would make sure that the fraternity or sorority makes sure that they make it clear to people who want to join what their standards are so that the new people understand what they’re about.

What is your plan to aid in the efforts to prevent sexual assault?

It is not to prevent. I think we need to educate every student about sexual harassment and give resources and encourage them, especially girls, so that they are not afraid. We should help them and educate them to talk to someone so whenever they have a problem with sexual harassment, they have someone to go to so they can get help.

With the recent issues surrounding our fraternities on campus, do you plan to allocate funds to fraternity groups or even sorority groups? If yes, how do you do this in a way where you are not condone bad behavior, like hazing?

Yes I would give them funding for their club and I would be happy to help them out, however, they need to write out a contract that they are not using that money to fund hazing [but] use it to help out members and their organization.

Describe the plans you wish to accomplish in your office and how you will implement them.

One of the plans that I would like to voice on with students is that maybe we need to better parking because a lot of students can’t even find a parking. We can save some money to make it easier for them to find parking. We can ask help from engineering people and they can help develop an app and track what parking spot is available for [students]. We can do some app competition that would encourage students to make their own app and if they get selected they can win some money.

How will students benefit from your work in office?

I plan [to be] senator and I’m in the science and math college and if I get selected I would voice students’ needs and concerns so that we can improve and give them a better college experience.

How can you improve upon the achievements of your predecessor?

First of all I need to look over to see what they’ve done so far so I could check out what worked and keep doing that as well as what didn’t. Then I would voice it so everyone can hear it and hopefully [the improvements] get approved.

What experiences or education makes you qualified for this office?

When I was in high school, I was part of AS [Associated Students] already and not I’m part of the New Students’ Orientation and I am part of the Community Leader of Unified Research. So I already have leadership skills and I’m open to learn and listen to everyone’s concerns so I can voice it and make it better for them.

How will you ensure that AS stays within its budget and provides adequate funding to organizations and clubs on campus next year?

If we can’t to get funding we have to write down and review what works and then give them funding. But only a certain amount and they have to manage within that funding so they don’t use it on unnecessary things.

What about the incident with the approval of planting roses during a drought?

I will say that we need flowers and trees because sometimes we need shade, but water is big problem in California so we need to conserve water. So I don’t agree with that incident and many issues and they shouldn’t have planted more roses and should’ve just grown some grass or something like that.


 

Amy Nguygen: College of Social & Behavioral Sciences

Cindy Soto: College of Social & Behavioral Sciences

Felipe Guzman: College of Social & Behavioral Sciences

Hello, Matadors!

My Name is Felipe Guzman and I’m a junior majoring in Political Science and Sociology. I am running for the Social and Behavioral Sciences senate position. I am running for this position because I want to serve you. To be the voice that speaks up for your needs. I am running as independent, which means I don’t have a set agenda. I’m coming in with a fresh perspective placing my fellow collages first.  I have had multiple leadership roles in school but also outside of school in government and grassroots organizations. This is why you should vote for me because not only I’m I passionate about serving I have the capability doing it.  

Q&A

How do you plan to tackle the issues we’re having with hazing?

I feel like it’s definitely a big issue. I’m personally not involved in the Greek system, so I think the biggest thing is to just shed light on the Greek system. I know a lot of us outside of it don’t really know what’s going on inside of it, so I feel like just join in there and revealing some go the things they do so we can have a better understanding of what it takes to be in the Greek system. I feel like knowledge is a catalyst for change, so if we teach our younger colleagues, like freshmen, what it is they have to go through, I feel like we can prevent those issues like hazing.

What is your plan to aid in the efforts to prevent sexual assault?

This one is really personal— even as a male, you can experience sexual harassment. I feel like speaking about my personal experience with it [would help]. I think it’s beautiful we get a woman’s perspective, but it can also be powerful to have a man talk about and be open about their experiences with it as well so we can have a more broad perspective and we can prevent not just women assaults, which is very important, but also men; we all experience the same thing.

Describe the plans you wish to accomplish in your office and how you will implement them.

I feel like it is very important for my college, Social and Behavioral Sciences, to get exposure to a lot of the people in our field who have jobs and experience in the field we’re trying to get into, so I feel like one of the biggest things I want to accomplish is facilitate the communication between the professionals and the students. One way could be through hall meetings, it could be through implementing a program where we can have that connection between students and the outside people who are working in that field.

What experiences or education makes you qualified for this office?

Because of my experiences, I feel like I’ve helped out a lot in grassroots organizations. I’ve been an intern in Sacramento, so I’ve worked with assemblymen and women, I’ve been able to speak to the governor of California, with the senate, and the judicial and legislative branch. I’ve been able to meet with them and get advice from them. I feel like I’ve been heavily involved in servitude– serving people, that’s what I do, that’s what I’ve been involved in. Not only do I serve in organizations, on campus, but I also serve outside of campus, both in my community and in programs, so I feel like the experience I bring to the table is having the mentality that I’m serving people. Not just leading people, but first of all, serving them. I feel like I have that sacrifice mentality where I’m willing to give up a little bit of myself if it’s a greater good for all.


 

Shantay Shahbez: College of Social & Behavioral Sciences

Skye Privat: College of Social & Behavioral Sciences

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