Editor’s Note: Changed voting to closing at 5 p.m.

Associated Student Government (ASG) has begun their campaigns for the President and Vice President, who take office in Fall 2022. Voting opens on April 11 , and goes through the 15, closing at 5 p.m.

Presidential candidate Salina Edwards served as Vice President of ASG this year with President Jay Shearrow, and has been a part of ASG for the past five years. Vice Presidential candidate Shelby Rios has served as the Director and Financial Advisor of the Club Advisory Board (CAB) this year, and has been a part of CAB previously.

Edwards earned her undergraduate in Sports Management from CMU and is in the second year of her Master’s program at CMU. With a background in both Jamaica and Florida, she also has been in the Navy for almost nine years and worked as an aircraft mechanic, and is currently a reservist taking on an information role.

“I feel like I still have a lot more to give to the student body and I want to continue to pursue initiatives such as Swipe Out Hunger and fighting food insecurity on campus. [Rios and I] also share the same values and goals to bridge the gap between WCC and Montrose, supporting WCC non-traditional students and continuing a lot of the initiatives that I’ve started this year,” Edwards said.

Rios is majoring in Biology and minoring in Forensic Science. She grew up an athlete in Texas before moving to Colorado on her own and started her career at CMU off running cross country and track. She also works at a local church nursery.

“Like Salina said, our values line up very well. We’re both very dedicated to what we do and just wanting to give more. I’ve built good relationships within clubs, clubs that I’m in and clubs that CAB oversees, and [we] just want to give more and hear good feedback from everyone, […] so that just encourages me to want to do more and give more to not only clubs but all students at CMU,” Rios said.

Edwards and Rios are running on a platform that focuses on three things: advocating for all student groups, facilitating campus safety, and making the college experience great by addressing basic needs for students such as wellbeing, finances and education.

“The key things are really advocating for all students, and this is inclusive of students at Montrose, students at WCC and the main campus. It’s inclusive of traditional and non-traditional students,” Edwards said.

Edwards stressed the want for all different student groups to feel safe on campus, such as facilitating an environment that has enough lighting, parking, and acceptance. 

“I think a big thing for clubs and organizations is complete transparency. I think a lot of people get confused, they aren’t really clear on what ASG does and what the process is. So we really just want to make it clear from the get go and have this open door policy, like if you have questions, concerns and things that you don’t really understand, we’re always here for you,” Edwards said.

Edwards said that being 27 and a non-traditional student has put her in a position to better help non-trads and others navigate a wide range of issues, including food and housing insecurity. 

“Being able to work with all these different students that come from different places that maybe didn’t start college right away, those non-traditional students, getting to work with them and learn about them is really eye opening,” Rios said. 

The two women want to set a new precedent for ASG.

“I think that we want to be a new face for ASG. I know I’ve been a part of it for a while, but I think ASG leadership has been really male dominated in the past and I think we want to show that females can lead just as well. And with our diverse backgrounds, it positions us to really be able to advocate for different voices, whether you’re older or you’re younger, you’re on a different campus, whether you’re a minority or you’re not, and really address different issues,” Edwards said.