Off the heels of one of the least-contested election cycles in recent memory, the Associated Students of Colorado State University is ripe for redevelopment in the fall. For the first time in two years, a new president will represent the student body, accompanied by a revamped cabinet and a renewed philosophy on student representation.
Responsible for the oversight of about $57 million through the Student Fee Review Board, ASCSU’s perennial struggles with student engagement reached new lows in the spring election. Jakye Nunley, the former administration’s chief of staff, and Joseph Godshall, another former cabinet official, ran practically uncontested, with their prospective competitors exiting the race early.
In the senate, former Speaker Pro Tempore Brooke Reese ran entirely uncontested for speaker of the senate, highlighting the cross-branch struggle to garner campus notoriety and student participation. This struggle culminated with under 4% of the student body casting their ballots — a marked drop in student engagement from 2024’s 11% student voter turnout. To make matters worse, the under 10% student turnout means the ASCSU Constitution is left unratified, essentially undoing every constitutional amendment made during the 2024-25 term.
As is customary, Nunley, Godshall and Reese made encouraging student engagement hallmarks of their campaigns, pledging to implement new solutions to renew ASCSU’s campus presence. Nunley said previous engagement strategies revolved around campus event planning, prompting the incoming administration to rethink their approach to campus visibility. Nunley previously championed the Students of the Oval Caucus, which worked to promote participation from students outside of the organization.
“In prior years, ASCSU may have been focused on planning big events — just banger after banger — to bring the maximum amount of people out,” Nunley said. “I want to create a cabinet that focuses on innovative ways to reach students.”
ASCSU still plans to organize major campus events, including RailJam, community blood drives, tabling events and speaker series, along with previously funded programs like The Lavender Cabinet and emergency contraceptive distribution. However, Nunley believes meeting students in residence halls, study areas and other campus hotspots will allow ASCSU to better integrate itself into student life.
Additionally, the Nunley-Godshall administration plans to emphasize first-year student recruitment through the Ram Transfer Academy and continue relationships with ASCSU alumni. Each student government administration also coordinates closely with university administration, a fact not lost on Nunley as CSU reckons with federal challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
“I’m an avid supporter of our Cultural Resource Centers, and ASCSU will continue to uphold the Land-Grant Mission statement and our Principles of Community,” Nunley said. “I’ve spent the summer working with our friends in the Office of Inclusive Excellence, like Kauline Cipriani and Rickey Frierson, to make sure that relationship between ASCSU and OIE is not strained.”
ASCSU Senate signed resolutions in the previous term condemning federal policy decisions related to CRCs, ethnic and gender studies classes and the revocation of CSU student visas. As speaker pro tempore, Reese helped oversee such legislation and plans to continue upholding ASCSU’s democratic values.
“There are a number of projects really targeting having direct communication with people within CSU’s admin team about having conversations with the Faculty Council and with other bodies that are aiming to find solutions,” Reese said.
Reese plans to implement current Speaker Pro Tempore Ellie Lutz’s strategy of shared governance, ideally retaining senators and garnering further engagement. She also has plans to modernize the legislative branch through updates to the ASCSU website, which aim to increase transparency and engagement with the student population.
The ASCSU offices and senate chambers are located on the second floor of the Lory Student Center in rooms 206 and 204. Nunley can be reached in room 206F and encourages student drop-ins.
ASCSU Senate meetings are held at 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday in the senate chambers and are open to all students.
Reach Sam Hutton at news@collegian.com or on social media @CSUCollegian.
