You should care about the upcoming Associated Students election, here’s why

BY EDITORIAL STAFF

Students often feel as if their complaints fall upon deaf ears. There’s an organization of elected students like you that can help elevate voices and bring issues of concern to the higher-ups of the university.

But first, students have to know who Associated Students is and why it has purchased eight pages of advertisements in this month’s print issue.

The Associated Students is a faction of San Diego State University’s government. They’re kind of a big deal. They have a direct say in the student experience at SDSU and can sometimes have an influence on the university’s most divisive topics. It’s their job to represent your voice and make decisions that benefit the greater good.

To give readers the nuts and bolts: the entire operation is spearheaded by five students

— whose Google calendars are somehow more filled than a full-time student with two parttime jobs. There’s an entire ecosystem of college councils, commissions, boards and planning committees that all report back to the initial five in charge. The elected heads change with each school year.

If the eight pages of ads didn’t give a clear indicator, it’s election season.

And we’re here to help.

The Daily Aztec will be moderating debates with the aspiring Executive Officers — the five who run the show — March 14-16 in the courtyard to see where each candidate stands on the issues that matter to you. This election is an opportunity to vote for people who share your values and who will fight to make the changes you want to see within our campus community.

Associated Students do a lot. They’re in charge of engagement campaigns like Rock the Vote and Aztecs Rock Hunger. They attend all the high-stake meetings where important decisions are made on topics like benefit changes for Teaching Associates, Kumeyaay Land Acknowledgement and budgetary decisions like the international fee.

There’s some stuff they don’t have control over, such as the university’s initial response to the rape allegation scandal from last year. But they can be proactive in acquiring responses or voicing the concerns of the student body to the administration.

It’s messy — but doing your research and showing up to debates is the first step to understanding how AS works. Students are here anywhere from two to five years, and the candidates elected this year will play a part in shaping life for the 35,000 students that attend SDSU. We urge students to come to the debates and meet those who might be advocating for the student body this upcoming school year. Not everyone can participate in the debates, we get that. Student life is already complicated with midterms, work, internships, extracurriculars and all the other fun stuff that comes with it.

But what you can do is read up on the candidates. You can make an informed decision and be a part of the change coming this next school year.

Make sure your complaints won’t fall on deaf ears. Voting will occur on March 20-23.