The tickets going clockwise from the top-left: Christopher Cade and Isaiah Nire, Marin Funderburg and Anoushka Dubey, Armaan Chaudhary and Aidan Chomicki, Ayele Amouzouvi and Olivia Gilreath. Credit: Courtesy of USG presidential candidates
Four campaigns are running in this year’s Undergraduate Student Government presidential election, each outlining priorities focused on student advocacy, transparency and representation.
The election will determine who serves as USG president and vice president, as well as senators for the General Assembly, for the next academic school year. Voting is set to open March 9 at noon and closes midnight on March 11.?
In interviews with The Lantern, the candidates outlined their priorities for the upcoming academic year.
In alphabetical order, here are what the campaigns had to say.
Ayele Amouzouvi and Olivia Gilreath
Ayele Amouzouvi, a third-year in biology, and Olivia Gilreath, a third-year in public health, are running for president and vice president, respectively, on a platform centered on uniting Ohio State students.?
Amouzouvi and Gilreath do not currently have roles in USG. Amouzouvi said they have formed three pillars that focus on different policies and priorities.
“Our three pillars are community, academics, and resources and wellness,” Amouzouvi said.
Gilreath said one of their main ideas to achieve these goals include open transparency among students, staff and faculty.
“For community, we’re thinking about a town hall with President [Walter “Ted”] Carter [Jr.],” Gilreath said. “We really think that would be the best way to get students’ voices heard.”
Gilreath said other ideas include better feedback structures for professors, mental health days where students can talk to therapists and additional community events to bring students together.
Amouzouvi said she also plans on increasing outreach to student organizations.
“I think it’s important for us to generally have face-to-face conversations with orgs and students that normally don’t get many interactions with other students,” Amouzouvi said.
Christopher Cade and Isaiah Nire
Christopher Cade, a second-year in public policy analysis and political science is running for president, and Isaiah Nire, a second-year in finance, as vice president. They are campaigning on a platform based on student advocacy.?
Cade is currently a senator for the General Assembly and Nire is a committee representative with the academic affairs committee in the executive branch.
Nire said the most important issue for them is the protection of free speech.
“This is something that is being attacked on from all levels, when it comes to the federal government, the state government, when it came to Senate Bill 1 last year and even some policies OSU is implementing through the university,” Nire said.
SB 1 banned diversity, equity and inclusion programming in Ohio public universities.
Cade said other priorities include giving more money to student organizations, increasing the minimum wage for students from $13-15 and increasing USG outreach.
“One thing that we are prepared to pledge now, is at the start of our campaign we will host monthly town halls to expand transparency within student government and our administration,” Nire said.
Both Cade and Nire said their campaign is overall focused on strengthening student representation through direct advocacy and policy engagement.
“This campaign is one that is built on advocacy, and that advocacy is directly dependent on your voices,” Cade said. “As long as you’re putting your voice out there, somebody will hear it.”
Armaan Chaudhary and Aidan Chomicki?
Armaan Chaudhary and Aidan Chomicki, both second-years in public management, leadership and policy, are running on a platform built upon unity and reform.?
Chaudhary is currently the vice chair for the University Senate and a committee representative in the recruitment committee. Chomicki currently does not have a role within USG.
Chaudhary said one of their biggest priorities is helping students understand what USG does and why it’s important.
“I think a big issue that you see with individuals is that they don’t know what USG does,” Chaudhary said. “If they do, they’re not sure how to access those resources.”
Chomicki said they also want to continue to pursue the current administration’s focus on dining affordability, specifically “swipeflation,” which is the term USG uses to talk about the increasing cost of meals at campus dining locations.
“Swipeflation is a huge one that has been worked on by a lot of different administrations,” Chomicki said. “If we could be the people to put it over the finish line, that would be really beautiful.”
Other policies include public safety, food waste mitigation and sexual harassment prevention, Chaudhary said.
“We’re really on this unity and reform model because we believe that’s where this university and the organization itself needs to go moving forward,” Chaudhary said.
Marin Funderburg and Anoushka Dubey
Marin Funderburg, a second-year in history and public management, leadership and policy, and Anoushka Dubey, a second-year in public health, are running a platform based on the impacts of Senate Bill 1.?
Funderburg is currently the deputy director for the justice and equity committee. Dubey is currently a committee representative for the recruitment committee.
“Our biggest priority right now is amplifying the student orgs that have specifically been impacted by SB1, helping to allocate funding and bring resources to them,” Funderburg said.
Funderburg said they also want to focus on increasing student protections, especially for undocumented and international students.?
“There’s a lot of fear right now that can’t be avoided,” Funderburg said. “It’s our job as being this representative to advocate for that and speak out about it.”
Other policies include public safety, outreach and better buckeye integration, an initiative to better support incoming students.
“We have so many resources and so many opportunities here for students, but how many of them really know about it and know how to access it?” Dubey said. “I think buckeye integration is one of our core pillars and something that we would work on.”
For those who want to hear more about each candidate, USG will be holding a candidate townhall on March 9 at 7 p.m. in the Cartoon Room of the Ohio Union. There, students can ask questions and learn more about each campaign’s priorities.?
