When the students vote for next year’s ASG president and vice president, the choices are between candidates who have a good bit of experience in student government at CMU and candidates that have no experience in ASG, but more experience in leadership roles on campus. Current vice president Ariel Diamond and student-athlete leader Ashley Pulido are running against the Director of Colorado Leadership Network, Brian Watson, and Horizon Magazine Editor-in-chief, Cassie Heykoop. After much debate, the Criterion Editorial staff is endorsing the Diamond-Pulido ticket based off of experience and the positive growth CMU has taken while Diamond has been vice president.

Some of the bigger changes that happened after Diamond took office includes the concert series and the MavRides program. Obviously, it took a lot of work from others involved in landing Macklemore, which was the biggest event to ever be held on campus, but Diamond made sure that the financial process went through and that the concert would be a success to students. MavRides has also been a success. She understands the lifestyles of college students and that safety should be a top concern for anyone. The free rides gave students the best way to get home safe.

Diamond was also in office during the biennial budget process, perhaps the toughest task for any leader. However ASG not only distributed the money fairly, but also CMU saw one of the state’s lowest student-fees increase.

Pulido is the current president of SAAC, which is one of the most involved organizations on campus. She helped lead a new charity that helped give many families food during the Thanksgiving holidays. She is also a member of the softball team and has the tough task of being both a student and an athlete. Despite being heavily involved, Pulido still finds the time to lead and make a good name for herself and whom she represents.

The decision process was a tough task this year. Heykoop is the news editor of the Criterion, so the question of bias coverage was obviously a question, but it is our obligation to give fair coverage to all sides of the race, and that includes endorsing a candidate. We were split on the candidates, as they are all capable of leading ASG, but we feel that Diamond and Pulido will best lead the continued growth of this campus.