Applications for San Diego State’s Associated Students elected positions are now available through Feb. 12.
“I really encourage people to get out there and run,” Vice President of External Relations Jacqueline Karczewski said. “You’ll learn a lot and put yourself out there to the student body. If you don’t want to run, I encourage you to vote.”
Any student meeting the specified criteria is eligible to run.
Getting started
All candidates must be currently enrolled in at least six units, have completed six units in the previous semester, have a cumulative 2.0 GPA and can’t be on judicial or academic probation.
The application process includes filling out a packet, which can be picked up in the A.S. office in the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union, and writing a short paragraph on the student’s campaign to be featured on WebPortal and in The Daily Aztec.
As long as an applicant meets the criteria, his or her application will be approved after Feb. 12.
According to the A.S. website, there are 34 elected positions available:
A.S. Board of Directors:
- President (1 seat)
- Executive Vice President (1 seat)
- Vice President of External Relations (1 seat)
- Vice President of Financial Affairs (1 seat)
- Vice President of University Affairs (1 seat)
A.S. Campus Life Council:
- Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union Board Representative (1 seat)
- Campus Community Commission Representative (1 seat)
- Community Service Commission Representative (1 seat)
- Recreation and Wellness Commission Representative (1 seat)
- Sustainability Commission Representative (1 seat)
- Student Diversity Commission Representative (1 seat)
- Student Support Commission Representative (1 seat)
- Student at Large Campus Representative (2 seats)
A.S. University Council:
- College of Arts and Letters Representative (3 seats)
- College of Business Representative (4 seats)
- College of Education Representative (1 seat)
- College of Engineering Representative (2 seats)
- College of Health and Human Services Representative (3 seats)
- College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts Representative (3 seats)
- College of Sciences Representative (4 seats)
- Undeclared/Unclassified Studies Representative (1 seat)
- Graduate Student Association President (1 seat)
Campaign rules
Campaigning begins on March 6.
Candidates must follow strict guidelines throughout the campaign process. Most importantly, applicants can’t announce their candidacy until open campaigning begins after 4 p.m. on March 6.
Candidates may only spend a specified amount of money and must turn in all receipts to A.S. at the conclusion of elections week. This is to ensure no candidate has an advantage over another.
All campaign materials must be placed in specified areas and may not be directly placed in the ground. During the open campaign period, candidates may visit classrooms or student organizations to promote their platforms and encourage students to vote. Elections week is March 9 to 12 and the voting period is March 16-19 through WebPortal.
“That whole week you’ll see posters up, T-shirts up—whatever candidates decide to do,” Karczewski said.
Candidates must attend a mandatory meeting on Feb. 17 and 18, where official photos are taken and general information is distributed. Following, candidate debates will take place during elections week from 12 to 1:30 p.m. March 9-12 on the North Library Walkway. This is an opportunity for students to learn more about candidates and for candidates to explain their platforms and answer any questions from the student body.
The election results will be announced at 8 p.m. on March 19.
“It’s really important to have competition and not to be afraid if someone else is running,” Karczewski said. “Competition really helps the voter turnout; it encourages people to run, and makes people more aware of what’s going on and really gets people into A.S. elections.”
