ASUC Elections 2019

All three referendums — including two that will increase student fees to fund basic needs and entertainment programs, respectively, and another that will create an elected position within the ASUC — passed during the 2019 ASUC elections.

This elections season, there were four presidential candidates, two executive vice president candidates, one external affairs vice president candidate, two academic affairs vice president candidates, one student advocate candidate and 33 ASUC Senate candidates on the ballot.

Independent ASUC presidential candidate Wyatt Colby and Neil McClintick, the transfer director in ASUC President Alexander Wilfert’s office, were both charged with elections violations Tuesday.

Independent ASUC presidential candidate Wyatt Colby released a statement Monday afternoon encouraging UC Berkeley students to vote for the other presidential candidates instead of himself.

As voting for the 2019 ASUC elections begins, many students remain uninformed about specific ASUC candidates and their platforms, according to voters and ASUC campaigners.

The rapidly-approaching end to the 2019 ASUC elections will bring with it an end to campaigning and the challenges that accompany it, including balancing work and navigating the bureaucracy of the ASUC.

When Amma Sarkodee-Adoo moved from a small town in Arizona to Berkeley, she decided to find out what activism looked like in this community. With very few people from her high school around her, she realized she wanted to support people who are unfamiliar with the community when they arrive and those who struggle at UC Berkeley.

During the winter break of her second year, Teddy Lake filled out an application to volunteer for whomever CalSERVE would slate to represent the LGBTQ+ community. Her application went unnoticed for two months.

Colby, a campus junior transfer student running for ASUC president as an independent candidate, said his primary goal is to bolster the sense of community on campus and bridge ideological gaps between students — which he believes is vital to the campus’s success.

UC Berkeley sophomore Stephanie Gutierrez has been an advocate for marginalized communities since high school, and if elected ASUC president, she hopes to use her own experience in activism to inspire action in the campus community.