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ASCSU Campaign: Speakers kick off debates with key issues

Serena Bettis

September 8, 2020

Four candidates faced off 6 feet apart at the Lory Student Center Tuesday evening in the first debate of the Associated Students of Colorado State University election season.

Candidates spent the first hour of the debate answering general ASCSU questions and questions specific to their campaign platforms and the second hour answering questions and concerns that students submitted via comments on the CTV Channel 11 YouTube live stream.

“ASCSU voting begins Sept. 14 on RAMweb and ends at 4 p.m. Sept. 16.”

Each candidate discussed what they believe the duty of the speaker is and what issues on campus are most important to them.

“A vision for our University and our campus … starts with student government,” candidate and current senator Christian Dykson said. “I believe it shouldn’t be a cluster of politicians; I believe it’s an organization that should be centered around outreach.”

Kyle Hill, a candidate and current senator, echoed his belief that ASCSU is a voice for students.

“We are the voice,” Hill said. “Administration … are elected to lead the entire school. But there is a disconnect between the students and them. And it is ASCSU’s job to bridge that disconnect. … We are unique in that we have a lot of leeway in what we can do with our student fees, and … I think that is important.”

Candidate Lys Taddei expressed her belief that the speaker should remain impartial.

“ASCSU is an apolitical organization,” Taddei said. “My job is to support the people. I do that by making sure the senators can do their job as well as possible. My job as speaker of the senate is to moderate the meeting efficiently.”

On diversity and inclusion, candidate and current senator Tristan Reyez expressed his desire to expand access to food pantries and provide more services that offer people fresh produce and a wider range of allergen-friendly items. He also stated the need for an inclusive environment within ASCSU that can lead to broader change on campus.

“It’s very important that we as student leaders address systemic racism on this campus,” Reyez said. “The administration has made promises that they have not followed through on.”

The Collegian will publish a more detailed account of the issues discussed in Tuesday’s debate on Thursday.

Candidates for president and vice president will debate Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. with a Livestream available for students on the CTV YouTube page.

ASCSU voting begins Sept. 14 on RAMweb and ends at 4 p.m. Sept. 16.

Serena Bettis can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @serenaroseb.

About the Contributor

Serena Bettis, Editor in Chief

Serena Bettis is your 2022-23 editor in chief and is in her final year studying journalism and political science. In her three years at The Collegian, Bettis has also been a news reporter, copy editor, news editor and content managing editor, and she occasionally takes photos, too. When Bettis was 5, her family moved from Iowa to a tiny town northwest of Fort Collins called Livermore, Colorado, before eventually moving to Fort Collins proper. When she was 8 years old, her dad enrolled at Colorado State University as a nontraditional student veteran, where he found his life’s passion in photojournalism. Although Bettis’ own passion for journalism did not stem directly from her dad, his time at CSU and with The Collegian gave her the motivation to bite down on her fear of talking to strangers and find The Collegian newsroom on the second day of classes in 2019. She’s never looked back since. Considering that aforementioned fear, Bettis is constantly surprised to be where she is today. However, thanks to the supportive learning environment at The Collegian and inspiring peers, Bettis has not stopped chasing her teenage dream of being a professional journalist. Between working with her section editors, coordinating news stories between Rocky Mountain Student Media departments and coaching new reporters, Bettis gets to live that dream every day. When she’s not in the newsroom or almost falling asleep in class, you can find Bettis working in the Durrell Marketplace and Café or outside gazing at the beauty that is our campus (and running inside when bees are nearby). This year, Bettis’ goals for The Collegian include continuing its trajectory as a unique alt-weekly newspaper, documenting the institutional memory of the paper to benefit students in years to come and fostering a sense of community and growth both inside the newsroom and through The Collegian’s published work. Bettis would like to encourage anyone with story ideas, suggestions, questions, concerns or comments to reach out to her at editor@collegian.com.

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