Adam Jones, a sophomore political science major and former Republican Party intern, was elected in March of 2022 to serve as president of the Associated Students of Boise State University (ASBSU) for the 2022-2023 term.
Jones and current ASBSU Vice President Ryan Bernard received a 50.6% majority with 752 out of 1,535 votes, accounting for 10% of eligible voters on campus. During the March ASBSU candidate debate, Jones mentioned his disappointment with the low voter turnout in recent years and further emphasized the importance of communication between student government and the student body.
“I think transparency is one of the biggest problems I see at this school,” Jones said during the debate. “We need to be holding our meetings in a public area where [students] can see what we’re doing.”
Jones also said that he believes “working with the state legislature is a vital part of student government,” referencing his work as a legislative intern for Idaho Republican Sens. James Holtzclaw and Rod Furniss.
One of Jones’ goals is to model the Idaho Legislature at the university level.
“What I’d like to see next year that we haven’t seen this year is students coming to ASBSU, testifying things they want to see us do,” Jones said during the debate. “At the Idaho State Legislature, if you’re passionate about something, you go and testify the bill. Not here at ASBSU. Where we’re supposed to be closer to the students, we are actually more removed from them because we don’t take their input directly.”
Jones further outlined his goals in an email to The Arbiter, which include founding a scholarship aimed at retaining Idaho students during the transition from secondary education into college.
Photo courtesy of Jones-Bernard ticket
“Some of our initiatives include working with the other Idaho universities and the Idaho legislature to approve a new scholarship program to help keep Idaho students in Idaho by offering more funding for top academic performing students – many of whom are currently leaving the state to seek their higher education elsewhere,” Jones wrote. “Idaho students should not be offered more money to leave Idaho instead of staying here to receive a quality higher education.”
Regarding his goals for the upcoming school year, Jones wrote, “My goal is to help make it easier for students to complete their degree in four years, to avoid needless fees, to have a positive experience, and to avoid going into debt by making sure we are doing what we can to help students succeed.”
During the debate in March, Jones raised the possibility of eliminating student overload fees if they take more than 16 credits in a semester. At the time of publication, the fee is $252 per credit past 16 credits.
“BSU is the only institution in Idaho that charges a fee if a student takes more than 16 credits in a given semester,” Jones wrote. “This is wrong and unfairly penalizes students trying to graduate on time.”
Jones’ plans also include bolstering Greek life on campus, with hopes to “identify and set aside land or the development of Greek row at BSU to be funded by donors much the way other expansion projects are funded here at BSU,” Jones wrote. During the debate, Jones spoke of plans to create two new positions that represent Greek life in the ASBSU executive council.
“This is your campus, and we want you to feel part of it and have your own voice,” Jones said in a video on ASBSU’s Instagram.
