Chase Dean
Centering his platform around inclusivity and equality, political science junior Chase Dean aims to institute change that will benefit students from all walks of life.
“Lots of people who keep preaching inclusivity and diversity aren’t doing anything about it,” Dean said. “I want to hear the underrepresented and marginalized students’ solutions to the problems.”
Previously a resident advisor as a sophomore and currently the College of Liberal Arts representative on the ASI Board of Directors, Dean has engaged in multiple leadership experiences that have helped mold his approach to the ASI presidency.
Stressing the need for campus-wide equity, one of Dean’s goals is to address the rise in food and housing insecurity by creating a program that would offer these resources for a month, allowing students time to find viable alternatives.
If elected, Dean will also prioritize the development of additional mental health resources on campus and lay the groundwork for initiatives toward more sustainable buildings. Dean has his eyes set on installing solar roofing in parking lots and organizing more awareness campaigns around sustainability.
“Focusing on infrastructural changes first is key,” Dean said.
Archie Mitchell
Business administration sophomore Archie Mitchell’s campaign slogan, “Putting You First,” encompasses the goals he hopes to achieve if elected. Mitchell stresses the importance of building a stronger relationship with San Luis Obispo City Council and working with residents to establish a fun and safe community for students.
“Through focusing on offering incentives for people outside of greek life to get involved in the community, we can bolster that relationship,” Mitchell said. “My philosophy is when we start to work for the community, the community will start to work with us to foster better regulations.”
Mitchell also recognizes the need for more sustainable practices on campus with plans to collaborate with Mayor Heidi Harmon to install more hydration stations, create more bike racks to encourage students to adopt a greener way to commute to campus, and establish a way to reduce food waste by donating unused, unexpired items to the San Luis Obispo food bank.
Additionally, Mitchell advocates for the enactment of tangible changes to address “the elephant in the room: the lack of representation from people of diverse classes, cultures and religions” at Cal Poly.
“We are 20,000 strong,” Mitchell said. “Together we can fight for affordability and equity.”
Davis Negrete
Biomedical engineering junior Davis Negrete takes pride in his empathetic nature, earnestly pursuing the Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) presidency and promising to make decisions that will fairly represent students. Negrete supports creating more open forums for student activists where they can work with ASI to develop plans for inclusivity and ensure that their voices are not only heard, but respected.
As a resident advisor and former student assistant at the Cal Poly Multicultural Center, Negrete has plenty of exposure to minorities’ needs. He hopes to fortify their access to campus resources that support student success.
To address practices that don’t promote sustainability, Negrete advocates revising Cal Poly’s master plan to maximize the university’s stand as a green campus and minimize the unnecessary destruction of land.
Negrete also aims to publish a recurring memo or informational piece from ASI detailing their progress in representing and addressing students’ interests and concerns, ultimately increasing transparency between students and the organization that speaks on their behalf.
“It is through dialogue where we can make functional change,” Negrete said.
Riley Nilsen
Agricultural science junior Riley Nilsen has built her campaign around establishing community-wide coordinated efforts to implement lasting changes on campus and in San Luis Obispo.
“I want to build student-to-student connections, relationships with administration and local government and work with them to create change,” Nilsen said.
As the current ASI Board of Directors chair, Nilsen had the opportunity to pioneer the recent mental health awareness campaign “Buck the Stigma” and Sustainability Week. She is a veteran of facilitating communication and collaboration among various constituents of Cal Poly.
Nilsen draws on this leadership experience, noting that she will continue to “have the hard conversations” regarding diversity and determine the source of minorities’ concerns. Nilsen plans to further educate students about their rights — should they need to take a stand against their employer or landlord — they are well-equipped to do so without fearing legal consequences.
Passionate about the preservation of agricultural land, Nilsen advocates for improving San Luis Obispo’s bus system and promoting biking to campus in order to stop “parking lots from taking away future classrooms.”
“It’s on us to take that initiative,” Nilsen said.