Four tickets are running for the March 29-30 Temple Student Government election. Believe in TU, Empower TU, Owl Opportunity and Take TU are presenting their platforms in the debate today at 6 p.m. in Room 217 AB in the Student Center.
John P. Jasionowicz is running for student body present for Believe in TU. The platform emphasizes improving veterans affairs, as Jasionowicz is part of Temple’s ROTC program. The platform also includes promoting inclusion, sustainability and improving alumni relations.
Current Director of Government Affairs Aron Cowen is spearheading Empower TU. Cowen and his team are seeking to build community relations and expand inclusivity on campus. Empower TU plans to reform TSG’s structure to be a unicameral representative parliament, which will consist of 40 elected representatives and a speaker.
Owl Opportunity, led by current Director of Student Affairs Michael Horwath, is running on strengthening the student voice by creating a student senate to represent the student body to the Board of Trustees. The platform will send student representatives to Harrisburg to advocate on behalf of the university. Owl Opportunity also seeks to promote the nationwide Define Your Line program, which works to prevent the effects of alcohol abuse and decrease the likelihood of sexual harassment and assault.
Tina Ngo, junior political science and film and media arts double major and student activist, is running as student body president for Take TU, which hopes to represent and provide support to all students. The platform wants to further education for sexual assault prevention, improve health services on campus and engage further with the community. Take TU will also push for greater sustainability and the creation of a sexual assault and dating violence center.
Last year, Future TU—consisting of current student body president Ryan Rinaldi, Vice President of External Affairs Binh Nguyen and Vice President of Services Brittany Boston—won 66.3 percent of the votes with a total of 3,042 votes cast. RepresenTU, featuring candidates Amber O’Brien, Aaliyah Ahmad and Tyler Sewell, received 1,537 votes. Voter turnout was about 17 percent of the student body, as compared to 6 percent in the 2014 election.
The last time more than two tickets ran for TSG was in 2010, when BreakThru TU, led by Natalie Ramos-Castillo, beat TU360 and Owls United with 1,345 votes.
Lian Parsons can be reached at lian.parsons@temple.edu or on Twitter @Lian_Parsons.
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