On April 5, the student body voted to pass the new Associated Students of Boise State University (ASBSU) constitution, 764-611, which will dissolve the Inclusive Excellence Student Council (IESC) and Funding Board into a new three-branch system.
Proponents say the new constitution will make student government more accessible to the student body, along with making the assembly and senate more representative. Opponents, namely in the IESC and Funding Board, have said the new constitution diminishes their role in student government and that the process ignored student input.
You can read more about the new constitution here.
ASBSU held elections April 3-4, where students voted for a new constitution and ASBSU’s elected officials for the 2023–2024 academic year.
According to ASBSU election manager Angel Venegas, the elections had a total vote count of 1,677, or 12% of eligible voters. This shows an increase from the spring 2022 ASBSU elections results, which was 1,535, or 10%.
Here are the rest of the results.
President and Vice President
Chey Sheen and Jason Holman (52%)
The presidential race had two run-offs, with Chey Sheen and Jason Holman ultimately winning the Associated Students of Boise State University (ASBSU) president and vice president race with 870 votes, or 52% of the votes, while Isaac Celedon and Zachary Jorcyk finished second with 807 votes, or 48% of the vote. Abby Smith and Sarah Kazarinoff finished in third, having their ballot votes and the write-in votes redistributed as per ASBSU’s instant runoff voting model.
Sheen and Holman ran on increasing student participation and transparency in ASBSU. To achieve this, they plan on tabling weekly in the quad and hosting semester check-ins with each club to address concerns over ASBSU.
They’ve said utilizing student input is something they want to become a standard for ASBSU, as well as letting students know what their student government can do for them. Their ticket was the only one on the president and vice president ballot to oppose the proposed constitution.
Associate Vice President of Student Organizational Affairs
Joe Engstrom (55%)
The associate vice president of student organizational affairs election also had two run-offs, with Joe Engstrom being elected associate after receiving 874 votes.
Engstrom ran on raising the grant cap for clubs from $4,000 to $6,000 and the individual cap from $400 to $700.He wants to enhance club representation by reinforcing comfortability in fund-requests. Engstrom also expressed his opposition to the new constitution during the 2023 ASBSU debates.
Ian Peña finished in second place with 710 votes, or 42% of the vote. Paul Massaad finished in third.
Associate Vice President of Inclusive Excellence
Diego Tapia (86%)
Tapia ran unopposed and received 1,433 votes.
Tapia’s platform focused on increasing student participation, involvement and education. His statement on ASBSU’s website said he would aim to increase student interactions with ASBSU by providing more incentives to participate in ASBSU hosted activities. He also said he wanted to seek for ASBSU to fund events that promote diversity on campus.
As per the new constitution, Tapia’s role will now solely reside in the ASBSU executive council.
Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs
Kalista M. Barkley (86%)
Barkley ran unopposed and received 1,443 votes.
Barkley ran on improving retention rates, increasing student access to financial aid and advocating for student voices in university decision making. Her statement on ASBSU’s election page said she wanted to work to create more resources for students struggling financially, academically or mentally. She expressed support for the new constitution during the 2023 ASBSU debate.
This Post Has 2 Comments
Extremely disappointing to see that the IESC is getting dissolved. It sends a clear message to LGBTQ+ and other minority communities that they don’t belong at Boise State. Once again, extremely disappointing.
Pingback: Students voted to pass a new ASBSU constitution, what’s next? – The Arbiter