Name: Chloe Sension
Position: President
Year: Junior
Major: International security conflict and resolution
1. Why did you decide to run for A.S. President?
I decided to run for A.S. president because I really believe in a vision for a more inclusive student government and a more united student body. I really see the role as president as the platform necessary to help me serve students in the best way possible and also to make that vision a reality. I’m really excited about the opportunity to run, and I really am dedicated to serving students, and that’s really why I’m running.
2. What are the first three things you would do on the job if elected for this position?
One of my goals is to post monthly open forums. I want to have these in very accessible locations, either in the Exercise and Nutritional Sciences field or in the student union. All students can come and voice their concerns or talk with the president. If that was me, about whatever is going on in their campus community that they need us, as the A.S. leaders, to help advocate for.
The second thing I would like to do is have diversity and inclusion training for not only the A.S. council members and representatives but also the A.S. staff and people who work for A.S.
My third goal is I would want to permanently establish a research and assessment committee in A.S. That’s a project I’ve been working on for over a year now, and I really want to get that committee established to have the purpose of acting as an advisory board to A.S. We can use more research and data to make more informed decisions. A lot of the data we’re getting back is showing the demographics of A.S., and I want to use all the information possible to manage the organization effectively. Some ideas would be internal and external research. Internal would consist of the student government and the demographics within that. External could be sending out a comprehensive campus-wide survey. That way, we’re getting feedback from the whole campus community as to how to more effectively manage and lead A.S., and how to serve students. I am all in favor of the more information, the better.
3. What areas does SDSU need to improve most on?
I think what SDSU needs to improve on relates to my goals for A.S. A lot of it does go back to making resources accessible and making all opportunities inclusive. SDSU is an amazing university and has so many resources for students. It has departments for almost anything you need and really tries to serves all students. I think a struggle with having such a large university and having so many departments and resources is it’s hard for students to know where to get to that information, how to find the resources and how to find how to get involved. I want to work with Shannon Sneade, who I’m running with, to develop a comprehensive resource guide and work with student life and leadership to try to centralize that information so that in not only helps students but the university as a whole.
4. Why do you think you can understand SDSU students more than the other candidates?
I think what makes me the strongest candidate is that I not only have the necessary experience and knowledge of A.S., but I have a lot of experience in the whole SDSU community. I’ve had roles in A.S. such as serving on the judicial affairs council and also board of directors right now. I’m also a two-term president of my professional business fraternity, and I’ve been involved in student organizations like the International Business Society and Students for Justice in Palestine, and I’ve really tried to be intentional about seeking out and meeting new people and learning about all students’ college experiences. Something that’s really important for me if elected president is to be able to represent the whole SDSU community. That includes transfer students, graduate students, international students, first-generation students and undocumented students. I really want to have everyone know I am here to represent all students, and I think my experience combined with my passion is what makes me the strongest candidate.
5. If we were sitting here a year from now celebrating what a great year it’s been for you in this role, what did we achieve together?
One reason I say I lead with integrity is because integrity to me means doing what you say you’re going to do. Another good word for that would be accountability, so it’s super important for me to not just say these are my goals and this is what I’m going to do, but in a year from now, check back in and say this is what we have accomplished. I have a lot of goals and a lot of things I would want to accomplish, but the main thing would be uniting the campus community. What that actually looks like in practice would be working with the existing departments and trying to unify our efforts. For example, I think that the residence hall association needs to be more connected with the student government, so I would love to reach out to our Housing Administration and make sure we’re working to connect first-year students and showing them how they can use their voice and advocate for different issues on campus. All my goals go back to a more inclusive student government and a more united campus community.
