Campaigning with the slogan ‘No One Stands Alone,’ candidates Alex Luther and Trenton Joiner seek to increase the understanding between students and the university administration as president and vice president of the Associated Students of Oregon State University. 

A major feature of the pair’s campaign is increasing the representation of the student body in higher-level university decisions. Their campaign platform highlights ensuring more students are not only aware how decisions are made, but how they can participate.

“The longer you’re here you understand better how the school works,” Joiner said. “I feel like this is an opportunity for me to make sure those voices are heard when it comes to the upper workings of the school,” Joiner said.

One goal would be organizing meetings between the administration and students to hear their concerns, Luther said. 

“We really want to make an environment where everyone is on the same page, as well as creating an environment where students know what is going on,” Joiner added.

An area the two consider critical for student input is in hiring. The ASOSU president appoints students to OSU committees, such as the Faculty Hiring Committee and the University Budget Committee. Luther intends to send students to these conversations to encourage the hiring of more female academics and faculty of color.

In addition to representation, the pair also intend to make safety and wellness a priority. Joiner said that some students do not feel safe because of their racial or religious backgrounds. Near the beginning of their campaign, the pair met with Alpha Epsilon Pi—a traditionally-Jewish fraternity—where some members discussed these concerns with the candidates.

“We want to have those hard conversations and discuss problems that have been festering, not just in our college, but in the country as a whole,” Joiner said. 

While Joiner is new to student government, Luther has served on the Student Fee Committee for for the past two years, and even launched an unsuccessful bid for SFC Chair last campaign cycle. Rather than running for that position, she said she wants to try a new challenge with the presidency.

“It came down to: do I want to go the safe route or push myself to have a larger impact?” Luther said.