President: Ian Robins
Executive Vice President: Eli Casteel
Financial Vice President: Kevin Gleim
President: Ian Robins
This board endorses Ian Robins for the position of president. Robins’ experience over the past three years on ASWU has helped him to understand the needs of the student body in a tangible manner. We believe he will bring much-needed consistency to ASWU, as well as reform where it’s needed. Robins has established connections both inside and outside ASWU. Given the current climate of the campus, consistency will serve the Whitworth body amidst the turnover of coordinators, senators and representatives in ASWU. Robins has a proven record of leadership of and devotion to the student body. He possesses knowledge and has hands-on experience in regard to problems facing Whitworth — from the Halualani & Associates survey and curriculum review to the budget deficit. We believe Robins will be able to keep students informed and well represented. We believe Robins’ re-election provides a rare opportunity for consistency guiding ASWU and the student body at large.
Although this board has chosen not to endorse Niko Aberle, we believe his passion should serve as a model for student involvement within ASWU. Whitworth would be served well by his involvement in and accountability for ensuring student voices are heard. However, while his goals are thoughtful in their critique of ASWU, we believe Aberle’s goals are idealistic. We highly applaud his ideas and values, but this board believes those ideas are not grounded in ASWU experience.
Executive Vice President: Eli Casteel
This board endorses Eli Casteel for the position of executive vice president. Casteel’s relational capabilities are the highlight of his campaign, making him the ideal candidate for this position. Casteel recognizes the important balance between communication and autonomy. We believe he would serve best as a supporting role for coordinators, senators and representatives. Casteel has a realistic and thoughtful understanding of the position, and we believe that in partnership with Robins, Casteel would thrive as EVP. Casteel has a wide range of experiences across campus, including multiple years in Student Life and serving as an alumni ambassador. His experiences allow him to excel at perspective taking. We believe Casteel will make ASWU a priority.
Although this board has chosen not to endorse Ben Wiseman, we believe his commitment to refocusing attention on the needs of the student body is valid. Wiseman’s heavy course load is also a concern of this board, as the EVP role demands a lot of time and attention. His concept to make academics a priority within ASWU is certainly noteworthy, but we have some concerns about making academics in ASWU too much of a priority while discounting other ASWU responsibilities.
Financial Vice President: Kevin Gleim
This board endorses Kevin Gleim for the position of financial vice president. Gleim’s commitment to ensure the monetary transparency of ASWU and inform the students of the budget at the beginning of the year are important ideas we would like to see put into action. Gleim’s experience managing his $53,000 activities coordinator budget will translate well if he is elected as FVP. His job as activities coordinator has allowed him to interact with clubs, which are groups the FVP works with extensively. In addition, he has worked alongside current FVP Herm Valdez throughout the current academic year as the activities coordinator, and has a strong understanding of FVP responsibilities.
Although this board has chosen not to endorse Maggie Meiners for the position of financial vice president, Meiners’ experience and dedication to ASWU are exemplary. If elected, we believe she would perform well in the position. Meiners’ focus on clubs is admirable; however, we believe Gleim’s experiences are better tailored for a transition into the position.