Campaigns for the Associated Students of Colorado State University elections for the 2025-26 academic year are underway. The Collegian sat down with presidential and vice presidential candidates Estevan Vega and Miriam Hill to discuss their backgrounds, campaign platform and future plans.

Vega is a junior studying biology and currently represents the College of Natural Sciences in the ASCSU Senate. Hill is a sophomore studying ecosystem science and sustainability and serves as the chair of the Women and Social Justice Caucus.

Background, ASCSU experience, qualifications

Vega: I currently serve as the vice chair of the Lory Student Center Governing Board. That means a lot to me because I can be the voice of specific departments of the LSC on so many different levels.

My background consists of being a key communities mentor as well. … I mentor about 18 traditionally underrepresented students on campus who come from a minority background.

When it comes to ASCSU, I currently serve as the senator for the College of Natural Sciences, and it has been an incredible experience. … Senate can be really crazy some nights, but it can also be very rewarding. … Just so much goes on.

Hill: I’m originally from Austin, Texas. … I think that on-campus, it can be a little bit difficult to find a community right off the bat, and that is something that I immediately found with student media. I’m a DJ at KCSU, and that has not only given me a community but it’s given me a voice and it’s given me something that not a lot of other experiences have.

I am an associate senator for the Warner College through ASCSU. What initially drew me to the space was also what drew me to working with Estevan — a passion for helping students and making change.

I’ve done a lot of work with Warner College, helping bridge the gap between professors and students and making sure that they have access to networking opportunities. I’m all about students first. … I work two jobs, (and) this is a place I’m so grateful to be at, but it comes at a cost. That’s why we’re here today, as students who care and want to make a difference.

Campaign platform, campus issues, priorities

Vega: We have narrowed our goals down to three main priorities: Affordability, advocacy and college experience.

Really, we can break affordability into two different categories: one being housing and the other being parking. On-campus parking has become outrageously expensive, with students at CSU paying $600 and $800 for an on-campus spot that isn’t even necessarily guaranteed. That needs to change, and the fact that we have been OK with this exploitation for so long is a problem.

We plan to start programs during our administration that would help reduce the costs for on-campus employees and/or students who demonstrate financial need. … We understand that the financial burden of having a parking pass, especially an $800 parking pass, is immense. It really hinders your ability to be a good student.

Housing all over campus is extremely unaffordable. On the first day of office, we want to talk to locally elected officials to encourage legislation to help rezone Fort Collins to allow for the building of more housing … to help alleviate the costs. A lot of students have to debate whether they’re going to pay rent this month or put food on the table, and that is something that does not foster a student to excel or thrive on campus.

When it comes to advocacy, our administration does not take it lightly that we will end up being the lead student voice on campus for the entire student body. We will be in rooms with influential people like Amy Parsons and the Board of Governors. Likely, some of these rooms are going to be rooms where a lot of students on campus will never be in their entire academic career, and the privilege of being there matters to us.

When it comes to the college experience, this can mean a lot of different things. For us, this means safety on campus. I don’t think we can have an interview about ASCSU and current pressing matters without talking about ICE. If students on campus do not feel safe at the place that they chose to be their home and their community, then that is a fundamental failure on the part of our administration and CSU as a whole.

We truly care that all student needs are met. Safety is a top priority, and that is why our administration plans to allow RamRide to run on Thursdays, so that every single student is cared for.

Hill: RamRide on Thursdays is really great way for student organizations to get more opportunities for fundraising because, obviously, money is tight right now for pretty much everything. But it would have limited hours so students aren’t getting home at 3 a.m. on a Thursday.

Getting “the college experience” is a reason why people choose a big school like CSU. That’s why we plan to start prioritizing tailgate for basketball games, setting aside a parking lot just like we do for football games but for basketball games. We really want to support our basketball teams, especially considering our men’s team went to the Sweet 16 last season.

We plan on implementing a program called Rams Ride Together. This is a carpooling parking lot, and it allows, if you have three or more students in your car, for a discounted pass and to park in a special lot. This can also alleviate some of the parking stress as well as help students save money, since those passes will be discounted.

We plan on implementing a pilot program to help alleviate costs for student employees for parking passes. No one should have to walk or bike home when the buses aren’t running.

ASCSU-student relationship, future goals

Vega: Over the past several years, ASCSU has developed a tarnished reputation between students. Fixing that is a huge priority for our administration, and it is something that we plan on tackling the very first day that we get into office.

We have to meet students where they are. … We can bring them to the CSU administration to make sure that CSU administration no longer makes decisions without student input. We plan to be the middleman and be that bridge between the entire CSU student body and CSU administration.

Hill: The biggest amalgamation of that was obviously the turnout of the last election cycle. That was really devastating and obviously it was uncontested, but it was just a little bit of a failure on student government, and that’s what we’ve been using in our marketing: “Student government, not ASCSU.” I think a lot of people are confused by that term and don’t fully know what it means. It also kind of comes off as a little bit isolated.

We’re not better than any other student on this campus, and my goals as vice president are to have sessions called Come to The Table. This is something that the College of Agriculture Sciences uses as one of their marketing terms, and I think it’s so beautiful. … The only thing that you need to bring is something you love and something you want to change about CSU.

Reach Claire VanDeventer at news@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.