ASG showcased candidates for upcoming elections

ASG candidates Job Lim (left) and Noah Aguliar (right) at the event interacting with students | Christian Roberts Lariat

The Associated Student Government and the Student Development Office at Saddleback hosted their “Meet Your Candidates” event at the Quad on Feb. 23. Students stopped by to learn about the candidates seeking their votes for the upcoming elections from February 24th to 26th. 

The event was held by the Gateway building featuring the candidates and showcasing their policies for the future of the campus. Lunch like pizza, snacks and water were served for the students attending the event.

“Today is to have our students meet some of our wonderful candidates to see what their plans are for campus, going into next year, and also to have an amazing time and have people meet each other,” said Noah Aguliar, the current President of ASG.

All the candidates were vocal about their vision for the future of the campus and students got a chance to interact with the candidates about their policies they are campaigning for in the upcoming elections.

Aguliar, who is running for a third term for President of ASG says he hopes to build a more engaged student campus and advocated for key student  spaces. 

Notable examples he helped achieve were the new student cafeteria and the Barnes & Noble book store so students can have faster access for services and to gather which was one of his biggest accomplishments.

He states that the biggest issue on campus is housing and plans to propose housing on campus for the current student body. With Aguilar’s vision for campus housing and a student connected environment, he hopes that ASG under his role as President can continue to do great work and change the world around campus.

Rose Tabatabaei, the current officer of external affairs of ASG says that she is committed to bringing stronger partnerships with cultural clubs and campus organizations which is why she is running for the Director of External Affairs. 

“They are the foundation of representation and community. External affairs should not feel distant, it should feel connected and accessible to every student,” said Tabatabei. 

She feels that with her role as Director of External Affairs and her experience as the current President of the Iranian American Society, she can strengthen affairs to help broaden students’ voices to work for positive student change and promote equity and representation on campus.

“The basis of this idea is to build this community and strengthen our relationships with each other. So, I really hope to bring this idea together,” Tabatabei said.

Job Lim, the current Admin Coordinator for Honors Program wants to set students up for success with their transfer applications and get them involved with long term success hence why he is running for Senator of the Honors Student Council. 

“These aspects of my campaign will not only set students offer success, but their transfer will set them up for success for their whole professional goals,” said Lim.

Lim says that as senator of HSC, he wants ASG to be advocating for their students and increase access to several academic research experiences. He hopes to ensure that every student is knowledgeable for the many opportunities in front of them and thrive academically and professionally.

Shahab Touski, an electrical engineering major, says that the technical programs on campus like STEM are often strained by limits of support and funding. 

“There’s not as many opportunities in the STEM extracurricular field and possibly add some more study abroad programs for students here at Saddleback,” says Touski, the current ASG webmaster. 

He hopes that as Senator at Large he can help bridge the gap to ensure technical programs can have the necessary resources to succeed and help STEM raise the academic bar and foster a more innovative and resourceful environment on campus.

Nola Le Tran is running for Chief Justice to ensure that all decisions made on campus are done on a fair and equal basis with help of experience in her current role as Director of Publicity and Public Relations.

“My previous experience being director of PR has already given me background that I need in knowing how to run a certain team and make decisions that benefit everyone, individual decisions for myself or the team as a whole,” said Le Tran.
”I hope that all decisions made can help us work together cohesively as a team.” 

She hopes that if appointed, she will make sure the system of ASG runs professionally through honesty and no bias.

Riley Hahn advocates that she wants to build an environment where every student on campus feels heard and seen since school can be a stressful place and wants to make academics more encouraging rather than overwhelming. Hence why she is running for Director of Academic Affairs.

“I just want to make an environment where there’s so many opportunities at Saddleback, but I feel like often students don’t always know about these opportunities,” said Hahn. 
So I wanted to be the Director of Academic Affairs to help make those opportunities more like seen and heard.”

She also hopes to encourage diversity of every student who comes from different backgrounds and hopes that ASG can make every student feel heard.

Mirya Reyes, the current Senator of the Interclub Council says that there has to be major change done with ASG. During her time as the Senator of the Interclub Council, she implemented systems that encouraged collaboration and engagement among students. Under her leadership, Saddleback reached the highest levels of club engagement in five years.

What she envisions is that committees could use stronger leadership, not just one person but as a team and can help benefit with objectives and using resources on campus to improve student life. 

Reyes has also heard from word of mouth that ASG has no impact on students unless there is an event and impact through food and music. She also states that students join ASG just to add to their resume and that’s it. She wants to make sure students feel the effects of what she does behind the scenes.

With her past experience and deep visions, she will be running for Vice President of ASG. “So that means creating programs that bring counselors and resources to the front view, said Reyes”

She wants to see students when joining ASG to be passionate about helping students on campus and make sure every opportunity and resource is accessible for students. 

“I want to make sure that these opportunities for our ambitious students, like the ASG leaders, are actually being trained and held accountable for their actions,” Reyes said.

Reyes hopes that if she has a team like she envisions as Vice President, it shows dedication among students on campus and ensures that they feel connected and supported. 

“Leadership can go a long way, but when it comes from ASG in a format where every single effort that you make is completely voluntary, then it’s even more crucial and imperative and that every person you’re surrounded with actually wants to be there, actually wants to put in the work, and is dedicated as you are,” Reyes said.

Other candidates that were not present at the event include James Sherwood also running for ASG President, Nina Rose Hawthorne running for ASG Vice President, Cleru Lopez running for Senator at Large, Fahima Karim running for Senator of Campus Life & Events Council and Hanna Akbari running for Senator of Campus Life & Events Council.

The ASG Elections will be held on February 24th to the 26th. The winners will be announced on February 27.

The Associated Student Government (ASG) works to serve as and for students to represent the campus and improve opportunities beyond the barriers on and off campus. By working with the administration and students, it will lead to propose new policies on campus that provide high-quality services to students, improve campus life and organize innovative events to foster a sense of community on campus.

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