Associated Students Inc. candidates campaigned for the second day of their Meet and Greet open forum near the Friendship Walk, offering free voter guides, pens and pizza.
ASI presidential, vice presidential, treasurer, and senatorial candidates spoke to a handful of friends and students, who were lured in by the free pizza.
Other students, like freshman business marketing major Jesus Pardo, were drawn to the event as they passed through the Health Fair and the ASI farmers market, which were also taking place at the Friendship Walk.
“We’re just walking by … at the farmers market and we just kind of heard [ASI candidates] speaking, so it was kind of intriguing,” he said. “So, we just kind of walked up here to see what’s going on.”
ASI department secretary Laura Butt said that ASI chose Wednesday specifically to “highlight [ASI’s] other ventures,” such as the farmer’s market.
“We want to show that ASI is really involved with the students, not just during elections — which is once a year — but on a day-to-day, week-to-week [basis],” Butt said.
At the Meet and Greet, she told students that they will receive an ASI general election ballot via email on Friday. Students will be able to cast their votes over the weekend, with the window closing on Monday, March 24.
“It’s not spam,” she said. “Don’t delete it.”
Graduate student and treasurer for the Men’s Ultimate Frisby club Charles Naurath said he attended the event to look for candidates who support club sports.
“I need to know them, the background, [and] their qualifications to run ASI,” Naurath said. “With the loss of John and Jon, it’s going to be a change of direction for ASI.”
Under ASI President John Haberstroh and Vice President Jonathon Bolin, he said club scholarships and summer sessions were funded enough to expand the size of the Men’s Ultimate Frisby club by about 30 percent.
Freshman business economics major Alan Muñoz said that he would also like to see ASI “reform the parking system” because parking permits are “too expensive for one semester.”
Junior sociology major Lucy Chavez said she thought ASI did a good job advertising the event.
“I saw it on Instagram — that’s also a reason why I came here,” she said.