Attention Aztecs! Today’s the last day to vote for Associated Students! We’ve been listening to the speeches, and the majority of the candidates running for Associated Students positions are fervent and captivating. But Her Campus SDSU wanted to speak each candidate one-on-one, for a more personal connection.
To get to know the candidates running for executive positions, we made sure to interview each of them. Aztecs, meet the candidates running to be your next AS President! Will you vote for Sean Guardian, Josh Morse, Jessika Seekatz, or Canae Washington?
Sean Guardian
Year: Junior
Major: Criminal Justice
What makes you the most qualified for this position?
I think that the biggest part of it is that I am the only candidate who has served as the President of an organization and on AS Council, so I think I have the skills needed to delegate and chair something, as well as the skills from AS Council and Restructuring, allows me to step in to the role, without a bigger learning curve.
What has inspired you to run?
The fact that as I’ve developed as a student leader at State and widened my scope of involvement every year, I thin this is the next logical step, and it’s something I feel strongly about. I want to give back, and I feel this campus has prepared me for what comes next, and I feel I have the capabilities to make every other student’s experiences the best it can possibly be.
What kind of positive change can you make on this campus?
I think the biggest thing that I would like to see is a stronger and more personal relationship between AS and the student body. I think that I would like to see more students feel comfortable enough with the AS President- myself if elected- to be able to call me or come into the office and talk to me. That they would be comfortable and that there would be that friendliness and informality between AS and the student body, because at the end of it, the student body is who AS represents, and those are our constituents.
What is your favorite SDSU memory?
Finding out that my fraternity won GreenFest in 2011 and being at the concert and hearing our name being called out in front of 12,000 people and watching members go onstage. It was just awesome to see my fraternity actively participate in AS events and be recognized in front of the student body for our accomplishments.
Josh Morse
Year: Junior
Major/Minor: Finance Major, Political Science Minor
What makes you the most qualified for this position?
My broad perspective of student life I’ve gained through my involvement in a diverse spectrum of student organizations like being in EOP and Guardian Scholars, former foster youth. I also represent the Greeks and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. On the university level, I’ve been selected by the University through Aztec Pride, and our job is to represent all of SDSU, interacting with high-profile donors and philanthropists. I’m also a PLC, which adds to the student life and student affairs perspective. My passion and pride for the university has led me down this path and I hope the students of the university see this and see that my passion and my sincerity stand above any other candidates. My qualifications speak for this. I’m not solely defined by one demographic.
What has inspired you to run?
My inspiration is pulled from the experience I’ve had at the university, from when I first stepped foot on this campus and joined AS my first year, I saw how much AS does for the university and the students, through all the programs and leadership resources we supply. My Aztec pride is very near and dear to my heart. I say I go to SDSU and I say it with conviction. We are not just a CSU and we are not just another CSU. We do amazing things, and it’s about convincing the students here about the strides we’ve made and the accomplishments and spreading the good name of the university. Our university is amazing and explaining that to the world is something I want to do.
What kind of positive change can you make on this campus?
Connecting a broader, more students to the university and to AS. My EOP community, which is huge and has been very vocal in the past and all the pockets of the university that I represent, and bringing AS to them. If people don’t know what AS is, then we need to bring it back to the campus. Give them opportunities. Enhance communication, enhance transparency, in turn creating more knowledgeable students. Representing SDSU on a state level- that positive change is continuing our shared governance and that relationship with faculty on campus. When you put people like AS President in that position, it strengthens those bonds, and that’s what we need. In turn, it will create a more informed, active and prideful community.
What is your favorite SDSU memory?
Being at the Aztec Achievement Awards my freshman year and being at the Back Door before the Student Union was demolished, and being with my mentors at the time. Being in the room with incoming officers, my mentors, the administration, and knowing that after this meeting, the building is done and gone. Relishing in the moment. Watching the legacy and knowing that this dream is coming to fruition. We are getting a new home. A really, really nice one.
Jessika Seekatz
Year: Senior
Major: Women’s Studies, International Studies and Conflict Resolution
What makes you the most qualified for this position?
I think that my experience on the debate team and as a Women’s Studies major has completely opened up my world to the possibility of having a critical perspective in student government. My main frustration on this campus is that I feel that voice is lacking at the top of AS. I feel that I can bring something more to the table. I’ve also been thinking a lot about the fact that I consider myself as an activist and how that meshes with my identity as a student leader, and I think the marriage of those two aspects hasn’t been seen in the past.
What has inspired you to run?
I think that running specifically for the position of President was something that I completely feel into and not something I’ve sought out through my years at SDSU, but something that has found me in a way. It’s always bothered me in the past that most of my friends have felt that AS is this entirely separate entity that doesn’t connect with anyone, and I think the connection and passion that I have, as well as the fact that my heart is in it, has inspired me, especially through campaigning, which can be really difficult. Seeing people run and be vulnerable, even if I don’t win, helps people feel that they can be a part of something.
What kind of positive change can you make on this campus?
Three things: I would really like to host an open forum at the end of spring semester every year where at least one delegate from all groups on campus, as well as making the event open to the entire student body, can discuss what the goals for AS for the upcoming year should be; to implement some kind of benefit for social cause that the executive team decides on together that is pertinent to the SDSU and San Diego community and invite all groups and departments to give to the event in their own specialty; and designating members at large to boards and committees and reaching out to them, because they are the ones making a difference in the next few years.
What is your favorite SDSU memory?
I was in the Vagina Monologues this semester and that definitely has to be one of my favorite experiences on this campus. I’d never auditioned for anything ever before and getting out of my comfort zone was amazing. The women in that group were unparalleled in their talent and personalities. Being able to be a part of a cause like that and being able to highlight women’s experiences is something I encourage others to do because of the effect it had on me. I laughed and cried, because of how profound the subjects are to individuals. Girl to girl love should be more fostered, and I think girl to girl hate is something that should be discussed more often.
Canae Washington
Year: Junior
Major/Minor: Political Science Major, Interdisciplinary Studies Minor
What makes you the most qualified for this position?
I’m well-balanced, a part of AS and other organizations that have a real impact on SDSU. I represent the university as an SDSU Ambassador, I represent the students as Vice Chair of External Affairs Board. I also represent over 4,000 students with the Student Veteran Organization. Because of these organizations, I am fully able and equipped to represent all 30,000 students who attend this university, as well as their ideas and needs. I’m also culturally competent, with the official year-long program under Dr. Stark as an Academic Mentor. This has prepared me for the AS Presidential position and the reason why I am the most qualified.
What has inspired you to run?
The Veterans have inspired me to run, my fellow Ambassadors, and commuter students. SDSU Ambassadors have inspired me because they’re all a part of different organizations, and they all time manage well to do what they do. Commuter students still come to school despite all the obstacles to try and get an education. I think it’s very important to get them involved and increase their Aztec Pride, even though they don’t live on campus. It’s not difficult for Veterans to find representation on campus, but they are losing their voice, and I think it’s important to represent them and represent something that is bigger than myself, which I think is a big part of AS President.
What kind of positive change can you make on this campus?
I’d like to make SDSU like a third home for everyone, like Starbucks, a hub for involvement, community service, and I want cultural organizations working together so that they can learn about each other and make SDSU a better place.
What is your favorite SDSU memory?
Wining Homecoming Talent Show with my partner for SDSU Ambassadors. Being able to use my talents for something that I love is really inspiring and lets people know that outside of academics, you can do something you love. Everything you do has a purpose and a goal. It was really fun to increase Aztec Pride that way.
As Tony Snow so eloquently said, “Voting is a right best exercised by people who have taken time to learn about the issues.”
Now that you’ve learned more about the candidates, don’t forget to vote by 7 p.m. this evening. To vote, log onto WebPortal and click to cast your vote.