ASISU Election Results Announced
As of approximately 9 p.m. Thursday, March 21, ASISU election results were in and it was announced Matt Bloxham and Taylor Jensen were elected ASISU president and vice president, respectively.
Bloxham will serve his second consecutive term as ASISU president during the 2013 to 2014 academic year. He is the first ASISU president to be re-elected, according to Bloxham.
Jensen will serve his first term as ASISU vice president. He acted as senator for the College of Business during the 2012 to 2013 academic year.
Bloxham said he ran for re-election so he could follow through with initiatives he and current ASISU vice president Anjel Zamora started this past year.
“When you start a project, they become kind of near and dear to your heart and I’d really like to see those projects through and [Jensen] really got on board with a few of them so he was an ideal running mate,” said Bloxham. “I want to try to take those initiatives and carry them forward.”
One of the main initiatives Bloxham referred to was an involvement pyramid that he and Zamora reportedly created last summer to get the student government more involved followed by passing resolution 524, which added responsibilities to the senators’ job descriptions. Those responsibilities centered around involvement on campus and with constituents. Additional requirements included participation in Bengal Wednesday, attending at least two ISU events per month and spending a ‘field hour’ amongst the students.
Jensen said he would like to continue to see what’s happening on campus and increased involvement will be a major goal for the year.
“I feel [Bloxham and Zamora] have done a really good job, and with me being [part of] the senate I’ve gotten to work with them a lot and see clubs interacting more and more student involvement and just making a better experience for ISU,” said Jensen.
In addition to initiatives reportedly already underway, Bloxham said he has plans for the summer and fall semesters in the works as well.
Bloxham hopes to work with local businesses that support ISU to create a punch card offering special promotions to students who show their student ID card or wear orange and black on Bengal Wednesdays. He said this was a project he started last summer but ran out of time for.
“I think [next year will be a great year],” said Bloxham. “I think we’ll have a few more W’s coming out of our athletics, and I think through student involvement, through the ASISU student government and all of our student organizations we’ll see quite a bit more involvement.”
Bloxham posted a message of thanks to the university community on his personal Facebook page following elections announcing the end of his campaign and the election.
“Thank you for all of your support, your friendship and your votes,” wrote Bloxham. “I’m humbled and honored to announce that Taylor Jensen and I will have the honor of serving you next year! Congratulations to all of the newly elected senators as well, I’m looking forward to working with you!”
In addition to Bloxham and Jensen’s executive ticket win, senators and an ASISU vice president for the Idaho Falls campus were also elected.
Newly elected senators for the College of Arts and Letters include Benjamin Harker, Jacob Hall, Morgan Pitcock and Sam Johnson; senator for the College of Business is Kyle D. Son; senators for the College of Education include Bea Valencia and Hailey Hudson; senators for the College of Health Sciences include Clint Brock, Keilyn Fuller, Tynan O’Neil and Rachel Munson; senators for the College of Science and Engineering include Mirazun Mitu, K. Tyler Bodily and Max Daniels; senators for the College of Technology include Cameron R. Butler, Karlee Blanscett and Patrick Hiltbrand; senators for Graduate Studies include Deanna Gende and Beau James and senator for the College of Pharmacy is Nelson Bishop.
Idaho Falls vice president is Rich Thompson.
Bloxham, originally from Blackfoot, will graduate this May with a degree in healthcare administration. He will return to ISU in the fall as a graduate student to pursue a Master’s in Business Administration.
Jensen, a Pocatello native, is an accounting and finance major who expects to graduate in May 2014.
