With the Associated Students of Colorado State University’s elections underway, Brooke Reese, who is running unopposed for speaker of the senate, sat down with Collegian TV Channel 11 for an interview and public forum in lieu of a formal debate.

During the conversation, Reese addressed multiple questions regarding representation, student engagement and transparency in the senate, drawing from her experience in ASCSU.

Reese highlighted her work with CSU administrators to preserve the representation of Cultural Resource Centers in senate and her involvement in setting up a meeting with CRC senators and CSU President Amy Parsons.

“Prior to that meeting happening, I sat down with all the CRC senators in the room in terms of being an active resource for senators because, ultimately, as speaker pro tempore and as speaker, at the forefront of everything I do, I want to uplift the voices of my senators,” Reese said.

“Trust is the currency of leadership. … It’s a matter of utilizing my resources as a leader and as a friend to the people within my branch to hear both sides and find where the compromise is, find where the problem is and find where the solution is.” -Brooke Reese, ASCSU speaker of the senate candidate

Reese emphasized that being speaker of the senate involves more than parliamentary procedure; it involves advocacy and representation of students within and outside of student government. She discussed her goals to bridge the gap between ASCSU and students who are not as involved on campus.

“A criminally underutilized resource is our college councils,” Reese said. “College council is something every student has as a form of community that’s distinctly already structured within their college experience. Promoting college councils through ASCSU, as they’re constituted as being bodies within ASCSU, will help promote ASCSU but also promote student voices.”

Reese addressed concerns about empty senate seats and the lack of representation for certain colleges and communities, stressing the importance of outreach and recruitment.

“Currently, our chamber is near overflowing in terms of just the seats in the room,” Reese said. “We’ve made steady progress in terms of our recruitment and retention over this last year. There should be no constituency that has zero representation.”

When asked how she would make senate a safer space for students of marginalized identities, Reese discussed coalition and community building.

“The senate has a capability to be a space of empathy and leadership,” Reese said. “The senate has the ability to hold accountability without antagonizing other groups of people. I think that safety comes in community.”

Reese said she believes the speaker must be responsive to change within the space and maintain accountability when it comes to legislation that doesn’t work for the student body.

“Accountability and transparency as speaker of the senate is leading with what’s legislated, and with what’s legislated that doesn’t work, working to fix it,” Reese said.

When asked about addressing conflict within ASCSU, Reese described effective leadership and team-based problem-solving built on trust and communication as key.

“Trust is the currency of leadership,” Reese said. “It’s a matter of utilizing my resources as a leader and as a friend to the people within my branch to hear both sides and find where the compromise is, find where the problem is and find where the solution is.”

In addition to her experience as speaker pro tempore, Reese served as a senator for the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences on the Legislative Strategic Advisory Board and as a member of the Board for Student Organization Funding. However, when asked about serving on the Student Fee Review Board as the representative for the legislative branch, Reese said she will serve if she feels she is the best fit but will delegate the role to another member of her team if they are better suited.

Reese also voiced support for increased compensation for members of the legislative branch while maintaining a strong relationship with other branches of ASCSU and recognizing budget limitations.

“The legislative branch, in how it currently stands, isn’t fairly compensated, but I also have no intention of ostracizing either of the other branches in the process,” Reese said. “I think that the legislative branch holds legitimacy, and that legitimacy should be reflected in our pay.”

In her closing remarks, Reese voiced her excitement to work as a representative of the student body.

“I’m incredibly excited to see where this next year takes us, and I’m incredibly excited to work with all of you,” Reese said.

ASCSU election voting is open April 7-9 on RamWeb.

Reach Laila Shekarchian at news@collegian.com or on social media @CSUCollegian.