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With the recent Associated Students of Colorado State University election in the rearview mirror, there is a lot to unpack and consider for the future.

Voting occurred April 3-5. The results named Nick DeSalvo and Alex Silverhart as president and vice president; Ava Ayala as the speaker of the senate; and seven students to respected senator positions.

Besides DeSalvo and Silverhart’s well-oiled machine of a campaign that focused on cooperation with local governments, increasing participation within student government and advocating for students’ mental health, all of which are hard-hitting points, the biggest takeaway from this past election was the increase in student involvement and voting.

ASCSU is directly responsible for a budget of $57 million allocated from student fees. They also fund student clubs and organizations around campus, including athletic clubs. That is a lot of power to give an organization and then not closely monitor what they decide to do with the budget.

As a result, it would benefit the entirety of CSU’s student body to get involved and consistently vote for what matters in these elections.

ASCSU considers itself the student voice on campus. So considering they are the ones talking for the student body, they should be discussing topics that students want to shine light upon. If nobody is paying mind to these decisions, who knows what they might be putting their efforts and time toward.

“It appears the student body understands the importance of voting and maintaining a close eye on ASCSU. The rise in voting displays the rising attention of the student body and poses a positive mindset for the future between ASCSU and the students they represent.”

Thankfully, that’s exactly what ensued with this year’s election. The previous elections only saw, for lack of a better term, a weak voter turnout with 6.17% of the student body handing in their voter ballots. This year that percentage more than doubled to 14.49% of students handing in ballots, a substantial rise in just one year.

So what does this mean for ASCSU and its members moving forward? And what about us as students?

For starters, it means DeSalvo and Silverhart absolutely have the attention of the student body — or at least the attention of a much larger quantity of students than previous election years have shown.

DeSalvo and Silverhart’s stellar campaign focused on the correct topics that not only deserve awareness but need awareness at CSU. Referring back to the duo’s emphasis on advocating for students’ mental health, students at CSU have been dealing with issues of receiving help in a timely manner for a while, and it was a topic well overdue for discussion and action. 

Additionally, the positive upsides that come from a larger total number of voter involvement at CSU will encourage more transparency and collaboration between ASCSU and the student body.

Collaboration and cohesion could mean having a greater say in what the budget ASCSU manages goes toward. It could also mean addressing and executing dire topics in the future in a timely and more effective manner. 

Local governments need students that vote on a consistent basis and voice their displeasure or agreement with certain ideas.  

Luckily, it appears the student body understands the importance of voting and maintaining a close eye on ASCSU. The rise in voting displays the rising attention of the student body and poses a positive mindset for the future between ASCSU and the students they represent 

So keep an eye out for important ASCSU meetings this term, and don’t forget to vote in the next election. Be somebody who is involved on campus and in the know.

 Reach Callum Burke at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @burkec0621.