On Wednesday, Apr. 18, the DU community had the opportunity to hear from their future Undergraduate Student Government (USG) executives. In an unusual election year, in which the candidates ran unopposed, a traditional debate was forgone in favor of a town hall, hosted in Davis Auditorium. Despite a low turnout of only a dozen-or-so people, Matt Walter, presidential nominee, and Sophia Gonzalez-Mayagoitia, vice presidential nominee, took the stage with energy and an air of professionalism.
The town hall began with an opportunity for the candidates to introduce themselves and their platform. The two thanked those in attendance and expressed their enthusiasm to serve in office. Walter is a public policy and political science double-major, and Gonzalez-Mayagoitia is a public policy and international studies double-major. Both currently serve as junior senators in USG.
The ticket described their platform as having “three core pillars”: encouraging sustainability, creating a student-first experience at DU and fostering a more tangible DU identity that is inclusive and diverse.
Their first pillar, “encouraging sustainability,” refers to their commitment towards creating a more environmentally sustainable campus. But it also refers to their commitment to creating a more financially sustainable experience for DU, such as a tuition-lock and more effective financial-aid.
Gonzalez-Mayagoitia then described the second pillar of the student-first practice. She said that she wanted “students to feel like the university truly cares and is engaged with them past the admissions process—especially minority students.” Walter cited services such as the notoriously expensive student parking passes, as institutions which can be stripped of “largesse” and made more financially accessible. The ticket also expressed a commitment to explore how under-advertised or unknown resources, which are already available to students, can be made more accessible.
Their third pillar seeks to create a strong DU school identity that doesn’t compromise on inclusivity and diversity. The ticket acknowledged DU’s lack of binding identity, even pointing to the small attendance of the important town hall as an example of the problem. The candidates expressed a commitment to affirming minority communities in cases of emergencies or harmful incidents, to reaching out to clubs and organizations to create spaces where different people on campus can spend time together and to working with the school to recognize and advertise the efforts and events of minority organizations on campus which have traditionally flown under the radar.
When the candidates were asked what their closing remarks were, Walter and Gonzalez-Mayagoitia asked those in attendance to vote despite running uncontested. They both expressed their belief that the community needs to fight apathy together to create a stronger community. With a win guaranteed, DU students will have to see how their platform plays out in the coming year.
