Student leaders take aim for change at OSU

Election victory brings relief, excitement to ASOSU, MUPC

By: Candice Ruud

Posted: 5/16/08

The student-chosen leaders of 2008-09 are bringing students' powers and passions together to create a cohesive bond between ASOSU, MUPC and the student body at large.

ASOSU President-Elect Ryan Mann and Vice President-Elect Kimberly Nickerson have grown close over their hundreds of hours together in the ASOSU office. After jokingly suggesting a run for the ASOSU leadership spots, they began seriously considering it.

"We wanted to run because we were really involved with ASOSU this year, and we saw its potential and wanted to offer more opportunities for students," Mann said.

A junior in political science, Mann plans on going to law school and becoming a lawyer in some capacity, whether working for a non-profit organization or elsewhere.

Mann and Nickerson worked closely together as ASOSU Task Force Directors this year, and were consistently dedicated, often being the last people to leave the office at night and working overtime. The two are also friends outside of ASOSU and have learned to read one another in their time spent working together.

Their goals for this year include utilizing student power to make college more accessible and affordable and meeting regularly with state legislators to advocate for OSU.

Acknowledging the increasing cost of textbooks, Mann and Nickerson will call for professors to have more copies of textbooks on reserve and to use older editions. Older editions tend to be less expensive, according to Mann and Nickerson. They also plan to promote used book websites as an alternative to buying books at the OSU Bookstore.

As a team passionate about getting students more involved, they plan to get as many students as possible engaged in student government and ASOSU's various projects. As quoted on their website, they hope to open up "visibility and transparency" so students can understand what their leaders are doing to help them and so they can take advantage of services offered.

Mann and Nickerson admit that the campaign was an arduous process and a tight race down to the end, when Honda and Heim withdrew from the election due to personal reasons. Despite the taxing nature of the race, the pair said they never felt burnt out during the month or so they spent campaigning.

"It's hard because you're trying to balance school work, talking to as many people as possible, campaigning, putting up fliers, as well as our actual jobs at ASOSU," Mann said.

"It's only a month, so you have to see the light at the end of the tunnel," Nickerson said.

Nickerson is a senior in health management and policy and aspires to a career where she can travel the world, working in international relations or health policy abroad.

As far as having a life outside of school and the 60 hours each week committed to ASOSU, Mann and Nickerson try to be as normal as possible.

"We're still regular people and students, so we try to have fun, but we know where our priorities lie," Mann said.

Student and family contributions helped the campaign get off the ground and flow smoothly, with fliers posted all over campus and supporters sporting Mann-Nickerson '08 T-shirts.

"You can only receive $250 from student endorsements, so we actually had to cut students off," Mann said. Most students donated in the form of $10 each, meaning only 25 students could donate.

Nickerson, who could have graduated this year but decided to stay when she and Mann conceived the idea of running for president and vice president, will be going to school part-time next year and treating ASOSU as a full-time job.

"We want to reach out and show students the impact they can have. We want to be a part of making a huge change on campus."

For the Memorial Union Program Council, Raphiel Carter and Callie Lessard ran unopposed to win the title of president and vice president. Carter, a sophomore in political science and sociology, says the duo's goal is to increase campus communication between ASOSU, the MU and students.

"I've been an MU programmer for the past year and really appreciated the experience it gave me, and I wanted to put my two cents in," Carter said.

Knowing that they were running unopposed, Carter and Lessard tried to connect with unconventional student groups on campus. Instead of campaigning to fraternities and sororities, they spent a lot of time talking to the student body and visiting the cultural centers.

The MU gets a generous portion of money from student fees per year, and about $60,000 of that goes to the MUPC, which makes and spends about $200,000 per year. Carter noted that their main goal is to see the money from students given back to them in a way that they can appreciate, such as concerts, events and programs that students have shown overwhelming support for and interest in.

They plan to implement more programs on social justice next year, which was extremely popular this year. They also plan to keep up with more traditional events like Mom's Weekend and Dad's Weekend.

The four students who will be running substantial parts of student government are excited and ready for the challenge, overall hoping to increase their involvement with students.

"We're really excited to be doing this job," Mann said. "We can't wait to work with students and help ASOSU reach its potential and continue to win victories for students."

Candice Ruud, senior reporter

news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231