2020 ASI Election Candidates

Meet Your Candidates

Student Government

President & Vice President Candidate Ticket:
Sophie Nguyen (President) and Emily Quinonez (Vice President)

Senator Candidate:
Nicole Bernal

TICKET:

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

Sophie Nguyen – Major: Sociology |Class:Junior
Running Mate: Emily Quinonez (Vice Presidential Candidate)

Hello fellow students! My name is Sophie Nguyen and I am so excited to be running for the position of Student Government President. I am a junior transfer student from Ventura College, majoring in Sociology. Growing up in Oxnard as the daughter of two immigrants has instilled in me a deep sense of responsibility and gave me a passion for empowering, uplifting, and advocating for fellow underrepresented students. As a transfer commuter student on a campus that is predominantly commuters, I recognize the need for creating a stronger sense of unity amongst our diverse student population and believe I am the best candidate to represent us because I am committed to creating a more efficient, unified, and representative student government via direct action. My experience interning for Cal State University Channel Islands Student Government, advocating for improving financial aid at 2020 Lobby Corps, promoting ethnic studies as a member of Ventura College M.E.Ch.A. (to support the Chicanx Student Movement), and serving as Student Body President of my high school demonstrates that I am more than capable of leading and developing engagement on our campus. As your Student Government President, I will advocate for an effective, adequately funded, and more affordable educational experience, promote efficient and environmentally sustainable practices across campus, connect students with resources for career and leadership development, supply commuter students with adequate resources and services, strive for our campus to offer a wider variety of food options, and empower underrepresented students. I would be honored to serve as your student government president. I guarantee you I will fight for your needs, ensure your voices are heard, and help further progress our campus life here at Cal State University Channel Islands.

VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

Emily Quinonez – Majors: Political Science and Chicanx Studies |Class: Sophomore
Running Mate: Sophie Nguyen (Presidential Candidate)

Hello fellow students, I am thrilled to be running for the Student Government position of Vice President. I am currently a Sophomore studying Political Science and Chicanx studies as well as obtaining a Certificate in Spanish Translation. As a daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first-generation college student, I represent a large majority of students on campus being that it is an HSI. The reasons why I am an excellent candidate for this position because of my experience in advocating, organizing marches, rallies revolving around communities of color who identified as LGBTQ Somos Familia Valle. Working as a student assistant in the Multicultural Dream Center on campus allows me to get a feel of what identities I would be serving. Through this job I helped organize events and workshops to promote student success as well as celebrate diverse cultures. I am also the Vice President of the Empowered Womxn of Color club on campus which strives to give womxn of color a voice and to collectively come together to learn and heal. As a woman of color and a first-generation college student, I understand imposter syndrome and see a need for more student engagement so that they may find their place on our campus. Should I be elected as your Student Government Vice President, I will work to ensure that all students and identities are accounted for by prioritizing marginalized communities by empowering them through advocating for ethnic studies. As a middle-class Chicana I will advocate for an effective, adequately funded, and more affordable educational experience, promote efficient and environmentally sustainable practices across campus, connect students with resources for career and leadership development, supply commuter students with adequate resources and services, strive for our campus to offer a wider variety of food options, and empower underrepresented students. Therefore, I promise that I will do everything in my power to support and uplift every identity on our beautiful campus.

PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT CANDIDATE PLATFORM:

Advocate for an Effective, Adequately Funded, and More Affordable
Educational Experience

1. We will collaborate with Basic Needs Services and work to establish and improve on resources such as the food pantry, hot meals program, public transportation, and emergency housing. We will advocate for allocating funding to establish a board with hired employees who will be responsible for outreach, developing, and expanding these services so they will be self-sufficient, enabling them to adequately support more students.
2. We will have discussions with University departments regarding budget allocation for tutoring services, advocating for direct and consistent funding to support and sustain tutoring services such as the Writing and Multiliteracy Center, the Learning and Resource Center, and the S.T.E.M. Center so they are available to students year round. These services currently lack proper and reliable funding to adequately provide students the support they are relying on.
3. We will begin dialogues advocating to make it more efficient and affordable for students to enroll in Summer and Winter sessions. We plan to accomplish this by pushing the University to provide a variety of more affordable classes as well as online classes that are more accessible to our diverse student population.
4. We will work to further expand Open CI efforts and initiatives to lower textbook costs, collaborating with more variety of classes and majors and offering more options for courses.
5. We will ensure access to quality mental health services by promoting Counseling and Psychological Services, and increasing student awareness about these free and underutilized resources.

Promote Efficient and Environmentally Sustainable Practices Across Campus

1. We will work closely with the bookstore and library to develop a digital platform integrated with myCI for students to exchange, sell, or donate their textbooks. Creating a space on campus where students can more safely and efficiently drop off or pick up textbooks would promote reusing and recycling, as well as providing students with cheaper alternatives for purchasing textbooks.
2. We plan to collaborate with students, environmental clubs, and multicultural organizations to produce a campus-wide event celebrating Earth Day by highlighting students and multicultural organizations’ perspectives regarding sustainability. This event will serve to educate and be a source of inspiration, that will help to unify our efforts in fostering a more environmentally-friendly community on campus.
3. We will work to further develop Ekho’s Clothing Exchange, which is an underutilized and underdeveloped resource here on campus. In helping to further develop this newly established program, it can be used as a resource that efficiently provides students with clothing and will promote recycling.
4. We will push for our campus to provide a larger amount of charging stations for electric vehicles considering that there is currently a limited amount of charging stations available for use.

Connect Students with Resources for Career and Leadership Development

1. Our goal is to help students be aware of career and leadership development resources. By creating an effective system based on student’s personally selected criteria, students will be informed of and connected with opportunities, events, and workshops that are relevant to their needs. In bridging communication with various student services on campus, students will establish leadership skills and connections that prepare them for life after they graduate.
2. We will work closely with student service departments related to professional and leadership development, such as the Career Development Center, Peeps (Peer Education & Equity Programs), and TRIO Student Support Services. Face-to-face tabling outreach initiatives at the start of semesters will ensure incoming freshmen and transfer students are knowledgeable of these departments and resources.

Supply Commuter Students with Adequate Resources and Services

1. We will address commuter students’ need for a safe space to leave their belongings throughout the day by advocating the need to provide locker rooms and fridges for commuter students to safely store their food and belongings.
2. We will advocate for the creation of larger spaces for commuter students with couches and egg chairs so that they can relax and unwind in between classes, ensuring that students are well rested and feel like they have a space to call their own here on campus. This will not only provide commuters with resources that can be used on an everyday basis, it will also encourage and give them the opportunity to participate in events and attend meetings for clubs and other organizations.

Striving for Our Campus to Offer a Wider Variety of Food Options

1. We will work with Dining Programs and the Food Service Committee in order to implement a wider variety of plant-based, gluten-free, or other options for food. This will provide students with nutritious meal options as well as food options for students who have dietary restrictions.
2. We will partner with on-campus food facilities to push for them to provide incentives such as discounts for students who bring reusable food or beverage containers.
3. We will work to offer more nutritious snacks and drink alternatives in vending machines across campus in order to give students more healthy food options.

Empower, Uplift, and Unify Underrepresented Students

1. We will collaborate with multiple clubs and organizations on campus and create events that can help us to support and promote their efforts. This would not only help celebrate and promote multiculturalism here on campus, but would also highlight the perspectives of the student population and allow us to better advocate and fight for their needs.
2. We will establish a team of individuals who will be assigned to collaborate with clubs and multicultural organizations on campus in order to gain insight on their perspective in regards to life on campus.
3. We will work closely with the Multicultural Dream Center, the Chicanx studies department, and other faculty here on campus to push for our University to develop and adequately offer ethnic and culturally-themed courses.

SENATOR CANDIDATE

Nicole Bernal – Majors: Political Science and Global Studies | Class: Junior

Hello Students of CI! I am pleased to announce my candidacy for a Senator with Student Government. I specifically am interested in becoming Student Government's Senator of Social Justice. I’m currently a Senior and double-majoring in political science and global studies. I feel as though I can positively advocate on behalf of students of marginalized populations and ensure that they have a voice on this campus. I will ensure that students are advocated for by maintaining an open line of communication and transparency. I have worked on campus in the Registrar’s Office and am the current Senator of Academic Affairs. Through these roles, I have interacted with many students, staff and faculty. I have also learned a great deal about the structure and policies of CI. If chosen, I will ensure that I appropriately advocate and act as a source of support for underrepresented students on this campus.

SENATOR CANDIDATE PLATFORM:

Better Inform and Market Events to Students

1. Use online presence to promote events to students.
2. Create a weekly social media segment on various platforms.
3. Create more accesible ways for students to be part of CI’s social media community.

Maintain Transparency and an Open Line of Communication with Students

1. Include students in the decision making process.
2. Requesting feedback and holding discussions surrounding events at CI.
3. Invite students to come to weekly Student Government meetings.

Actively Engage and Advocate on Behalf of Students

1. Hold tabling events in order to better reach out to students.
2. Attend and make connections with student clubs and orgs.
3. Support students and advocate for policies that may affect them.