Candidates for San Jose State’s Associated Students board of directors participated in election debates on Zoom Monday.

During the debates, candidates introduced themselves to attendees and answered questions asked by the Spartan Daily. 

Seven out of 19 candidates are running unopposed including biological science junior Anoop Kapur, who is running for president. 

Brenda Le, business administration junior and A.S. events officer said the elections committee was satisfied with the turnout because all the candidates attended. 

The elections committee consists of the chief election officer, marketing officer, events officer, ethics officer, two election consultants and a student advisor. 

Le said candidates were asked specific questions about their position, unlike last year’s debate. 

In the 2020 election, candidates were each asked a question until all had answered, and then the rotation would repeat. 

President

Biological science junior Anoop Kaur is the outgoing director of academic affairs and the only candidate running for Fall 2021 president. 

Kaur said if elected president, she would aim to dismantle anti-Blackness and systemic racism within the university. 

“My mission is to serve students,” she said. “A.S. serves as a mechanism for empowering students and their voices.”

Communications

Public relations junior Gerard Pablo said he plans on increasing more awareness of campus events among students if he is elected by creating a master calendar so students can easily get involved.

Pablo also said the A.S. Instagram account’s prominent issue is its lack of engagement. 

“I want students to engage with [the account] instead of just one-way communication,” he said. 

The second candidate, business sophomore Colin Foley shared a similar concern, adding there are about 30,000 students on campus but the A.S. Instagram only has 5,000 followers.

In addition to increasing followers, Foley said he plans to create “heightened” social media publications.

“With our generation and the students coming in, they are very accustomed to getting their news and information through social media,” he said. 

Foley said many students are unaware of the various A.S. committees and their responsibilities, and if elected he intends on increasing transparency about committees functionings through social media platforms.  

Controller 

Maritza Molina, a hospitality, tourism and event management senior, said she helped implement the A.S. affordable textbook program, which grants students a $200 voucher for textbooks and other qualifying school supplies at the Spartan Bookstore. 

Molina said she’ll continue to enhance student resources and help those who previously needed assistance but didn’t qualify. 

She said her goal is to expand funding and collaboration with the Spartan Bookstore and A.S. individual student funding. 

International business sophomore Andres Murillo said he has the motivation and knowledge to be the A.S. Controller because of his involvement with the Residence Hall Association. 

Murillo said if elected, he will reach out to different campus-based organizations in the summer and determine their financial needs. 

Statistics senior Benz Phan, who was on the A.S. finance committee for the past two years, said his mission is to give back to campus with his service since he has been involved with the university since his freshman year. 

Phan said based on his experience in the finance committee, the university holds a considerable amount of unallocated money from student fees that doesn’t get used. 

“Student organizations should not have to be shy when it comes to funding requests,” he said. 

Software engineering junior Soumya Trivedi said she understands basic student needs and if elected, she hopes to lead the university into a “new era of prosperity.” 

She also said her role last year as a marketing officer on the A.S. election’s committee perfected her budgeting and managing skills. 

Trivedi said she plans on assisting student organizations in receiving funding because “organizations prepare students for the world after college.”

 Academic Affairs

Sociology junior Chloe Cramer said she would collaborate with the academic senate to extend deadlines for dropping and withdrawing from courses if she’s elected.

She would also expand academic advising resources including peer connections so students can “feel prepared and knowledgeable about the courses they need to take.”

Software engineering masters student Ananth Upadhya said supporting students academically is crucial. 

Upadhya said he plans to send surveys to students in Fall 2021 to assess their academic needs. 

“I would conduct samples from the colleges where students can come up with their grievances,” he said. “I would also conduct events where students can fill out their concerns on academics and their voice will be heard.” 

Business Affairs 

Finance sophomore Antonio Maldonado said he wants to help students navigate their finances, as ‘“college is the perfect time to start investing.” 

“I want to help students navigate their investments,” Maldonado said. “As a minority, I did not have access to financial help or generational wealth.” 

Business administration freshman Christopher Wong said he wants to make the A.S. budget and allocation of tuition money more transparent for students.

If elected, Wong intends to use data acquired from students to allocate the appropriate funds in areas aligned with student needs.

Intercultural Affairs 

When asked what political science junior Ashley Guerrero would do to prevent discrimination and racism at SJSU, she said she would assist the Asian Pacific Islander Desi/American community in their efforts to create a community resource center. 

Psychology junior Rodrigo Saucedo said if elected, he’d push to work closely with SJSU’s chief diversity officer and vice president of student affairs to implement more anti-discrimination and racism workshops and modules for students. He also said he would create a committee for intercultural affairs to ensure “all voices from underrepresented communities are heard.” 

Conclusion

Brenda Le said common themes among all candidates were increasing student engagement and prioritizing social justice issues. 

“Increasing engagement is an important topic right now since we are still [remote] and it is pretty difficult to make sure that those students are engaging with the campus community,” she said in an interview after the debates. 

Students can vote on the A.S. website until 8 a.m. Thursday. 

Elections results will be announced Thursday at 12 p.m.