Elections for the Associated Students of Oregon State University have officially opened and will close on March 10, with two presidential tickets running for the president and vice president positions.

Julia Hayes and Angelo Arredondo

ASOSU Senator Julia Hayes, a junior majoring in political science, is currently running for ASOSU president. 

According to Hayes, her past experiences, internships and time as an ASOSU senator have prepared her to run for ASOSU president.

ASOSU Policy Director Angelo Arredondo, a political science major, is running for ASOSU vice president. 

According to Arredondo, he has held positions in both the city and the student government, and as a first-generation student from a low-income family, he says he brings a different perspective from his typical peers.

Arredondo and Hayes plan to internally restructure their administration within the senate to be more open and diverse. For Hayes, lack of training surrounding openness and diversity made joining the senate an unideal experience.

“I was hesitant to do a lot of things because I wasn’t taught properly…and I feel like that’s because all of us were waiting for someone to thoroughly show us how to do it,” Hayes said.

Hayes plans to help senators be more confident in writing legislation and reinforce the requirement that each senator has to write a piece of legislation. Similarly, Arredondo plans to encourage other senators towards transparency as well as teach them how to write a bill.

“Every senator would feel empowered to write legislation and get something done,” Hayes said. “We would step-by-step walk them through how to do that because it is an intimidating thing.”

According to Hayes, the candidates plan to make Narcan — a medication that prevents drug overdoses when they’re happening — more accessible and implement sleeping pods on campus where students can go and nap.

Hayes expressed a need for increased support and accountability for sexual assault by collaborating with CAPS, different councils and public safety to look at the details of this goal.

“I know there’s incidents where people aren’t satisfied or things don’t get dealt with correctly. So looking at the specifics, and having different communities on campus collaborate would probably be the first step,” Hayes said.

Carissa O’Donnell and Dakota Canzano

ASOSU Congressmember Carissa O’Donnell, a second-year environmental science major minoring in political science, is running for ASOSU president.

Student Fee Committee Liaison for Intercollegiate Athletics Dakota Canzano, a second-year majoring in human development and family sciences, is running for ASOSU vice president.

According to Canzano and O’Donnell, they’ve been a part of ASOSU long enough to know how it functions and where it needs improvement.

Both candidates agree that one of their most important priorities is bridging a disconnect between the student body and student government.

To bridge this gap, O’Donnell plans to let students know how they can be involved when it comes to student government and the resources the university has.

According to Canzano, meeting this goal includes continuing to meet with groups, organizations, clubs, Greek life and cultural centers for support and feedback. As ASOSU receives feedback from these students, Canzano hopes to spread the word about existing sustainable initiatives to other students.

“This is something that we’ve really been spearheading because we really want to not only just show up and connect with the group right away while we’re campaigning, but continue that process when we’re elected,” Canzano said.

Another goal  of Canzano and O’Donnell’s is mental health accessibility. For these candidates, tackling this issue means getting more mental health professionals, creating support groups and getting people to speak about mental health.

“Mental health is something I’m specifically passionate about because I’ve experienced a lot of struggles myself, and just listening to peers and hearing the lack of resources available, it makes me feel empowered to fight for mental health to make resources accessible,” Canzano said.

In addition, both candidates plan to address the lack of single-user and non-binary restrooms on campus by sharing resources that will help students locate these restrooms, to bring campus into a “more progressive era.”

“Nobody should have to worry about walking a long distance to find a restroom or having to go out of the building,” Canzano said.