The Associated Students Incorporation (ASI) Recruitment and Elections Committee removed the standalone diversity statement section from this year’s election candidate packet.
ASI holds annual spring elections for ASI President and ASI Board of Directors representatives. Students interested in running can officially file a candidate packet starting Feb. 5 and students can vote in the election April 23 – 25.
Candidates can articulate their platform to inform voters by completing the candidate packet. Along with the personal statement, the candidate packet includes information on the responsibilities of the roles and eligibility requirements of candidates.
“Candidate statements can include areas you would like to focus on if elected, your involvement on campus, your demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion or any other information that you believe sets you apart from other candidates,” the 2024-2025 ASI candidate packet reads.
Without a diversity statement section, the personal statement section will be increased from 150 to 250 words and include new verbiage to inform candidates they may discuss diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) if they choose, according to Chair of the Recruitments and Elections Committee Marc Cabeliza.
“We didn’t necessarily take [the diversity statement] away,” Cabeliza, also a CAFES Board of Directors representative, said. “I think we have restructured it. We built that DEI statement into our candidate statement, so whether you want to talk about what you want to do to make campus more equitable or the food on campus, [you can].”
The change comes because ASI members believe that some candidates’ main campaign platform will not be entirely about DEI, according to Cabeliza.
“We want students to feel comfortable and not feel like we have to pressure them into it,” Cabeliza said. “We don’t want students to be fake when it comes to stuff like that. I want [candidates] to talk about the issues that [they] care about.”
In previous years, the diversity statement section required all candidates to discuss their previous or future commitment to DEI initiatives.
“How will you prioritize DEI efforts in your leadership role? Give examples of your previous work as well as goals for the future,” the 2023-2024 ASI candidate packet reads. “What responsibilities do you believe ASI should take on when it comes to DEI? How have you supported a more inclusive environment for historically marginalized students at Cal Poly?”
ASI President Sam Andrews believes the change reflects a history of candidates’ confusion about the question and voters not reading the responses.
“Students who were campaigning didn’t necessarily understand what it was for,” Andrews said. “It’s also something that is typically not always read by students who are planning to vote. By including it all in one section, we should be able to keep people’s attention.”
Even without the diversity statement, Cabeliza thinks all elected officials will be properly informed on DEI initiatives. Through trainings during summer workshops and for their fall kickoff, Cabeliza says all ASI representatives are educated about DEI.
“As a [predominantly white institution], some students don’t see how they fit into this, but I think they put into perspective how all of us can play a part in this whether we identify with it or not,” Cabeliza said.
Andrews shares this sentiment. They believe that anyone who is not supportive of DEI initiatives will make it known with or without a question on the candidate packet specific to this issue.
“People who I’ve competed against have made it very clear in their platform that they aren’t supportive of those items,” Andrews said.
Diversity and Inclusion Committee member Scott Drouin believes students will be adequately informed on the candidates and choose the ones that best represent them with the enlarged personal statement.
“It’s up to the Cal Poly electorate to choose the candidates that they want to elect,” Drouin, also a CLA Board of Directors representative, said. “The hope is that candidates who care about DEI will still write about that. We want to give candidates the space they need to write about issues that they care about.”
The Recruitment and Elections committee is also focused on increasing voter turnout in the upcoming election, according to Cabeliza.
Last year, voter turnout was around 6% of Cal Poly’s student body, according to Cabeliza. Additionally, ASI extended the voting window from 24 to 48 hours in hopes of increasing student engagement.
Cabeliza claims that the decline in voting is due to the overall lack of student engagement in student government and the long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Pre-Covid voting participation ranged from 15-30%, according to Cabeliza.
“What we’re hoping to do, whether that’s through our marketing campaigns or outreach campaigns, throughout the rest of the school year is getting that number up so that students know when is voting season and what [they are] voting for?” Cabeliza said.