The Associated Student Government presidential election began Thursday evening. Voting will continue until Saturday evening, allowing students to choose the next chief student ambassadors to the administration.
This year, there are two tickets on the ballot.
SESP sophomore Caleb Snead and Weinberg sophomore Ty’Shea Woods are running as co-presidents. Weinberg junior Nicole Aguilar-Medina is running for president with SESP junior Anna Alava as her vice president.
Candidates on both tickets have leadership experience within ASG. Snead is the chair of the Finance Committee, and Woods is the co-executive officer of justice and inclusion.
Aguilar-Medina is the Alianza student group senator and the chair of the Board of Financial Review. Alava is the Asian Pacific American Coalition student group senator and the deputy chair of the Justice and Inclusion Committee.
Snead and Woods have been endorsed by the current ASG Presidents — SESP senior Donovan Cusick and McCormick senior Molly Whalen — Mayfest Productions, A&O Productions, NU Dance Marathon, Students for Justice in Palestine and several other organizations.
Aguilar-Medina and Alava have been endorsed by Quest+, Bienestar, Alianza, APAC, Kaibigan and several others.
The Daily spoke with the Associated Student Government’s Presidential Candidates. Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Whalen said she thinks ASG presidential candidates should be constantly prepared to meet with students and the administration.
“I believe the most important quality in ASG presidents is building and maintaining stakeholder relationships,” Whalen said.
The ASG president’s primary roles — according to the ASG Code and Constitution — are to serve as chief student ambassador, recommend legislation to the ASG Senate, participate in a committee to apportion membership in the Undergraduate Schools Caucus, appoint cabinet members and call meetings of the Executive Board.
The president-elect will take office during the sixth week of Spring Quarter.
Cusick said an ASG president must be patient and committed to serving the student body.
“A few qualities that are important in a president include a willingness to serve and support the interests of all students, a patient and truth-focused approach to leadership and an ability to build healthy and respectful relationships with others, even if you don’t see eye-to-eye,” Cusick said.
Weinberg senior and ASG Executive Director of Democracy Dylan Jost said the ASG president represents students’ interests and works to improve the student experience at NU.
“This election is an opportunity for Northwestern undergraduates to indicate which issues are important to them,” Jost said. “By voting for a specific set of candidates, students are able to demonstrate which candidate’s platform best aligns with their own priorities.”
Students can vote on Wildcat Connection until 7 p.m. Saturday using a link sent to all students’ emails.
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— ASG Senate passes legislation moving presidential elections to Winter Quarter
