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Domonique Clemons elected president of ASMSU

April 24, 2015

Leadership has officially changed hands within ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government.

A new president, Domonique Clemons, and six new vice presidents have been elected by general assembly members to take the positions of the now former office of the president, and will act as ASMSU’s leadership in the coming session.

Four out of the seven presidential positions were uncontested races, and the remaining three races were comprised of two candidates.

Newly-elected ASMSU president Domonique Clemons said this year’s general assembly participation was rocky, and that moving forward, engaging students and representatives will be one of his top priorities.

Clemons also said that completing the implementation of initiatives such as the bike share and safe ride is imperative this session, along with continuing campaigns to raise awareness of sexual assault and mental health.

About twelve out of a possible 34 new general assembly representatives from degree-granting colleges cast their votes for the new office of the president during the last two nights, which is the new general assembly’s first task each year.

Representatives from groups such as the International Student Association and Multicultural Greek Council also voted for the office of the president, although representatives from those organizations tend to change after summer, former ASMSU College of social science representative Evan Schrage said.

Each vice presidential candidate spoke of engaging more students, and highlighted the serious issues of voter turnout and general assembly involvement that ASMSU faces in the coming session.

“My biggest priority is election turnout and filling the general assembly seats – we can’t govern without a governing body,” newly-elected vice president for internal administration Jason Porter said.

Porter also said he hopes to see the vacant general assembly seats filled by the start of next year, so that ASMSU can have a full governing body.

“It’s really important that we engage students and that starts with advocacy – we need to push issues that are important to students,” newly elected vice president of governmental affairs Bryn Williams said. “Making myself available to students is really important – getting a variety of viewpoints is crucial to maintaining the intrinsic value of governmental affairs.”

Last night, new general assembly members also voted to approve ASMSU’s budget for the next fiscal year, which outlines how the organization allocates its $1,508,716 in funding.

The largest allocation, $388,929 and 25 percent of the budget, goes to fund ASMSU’s legal services and student defenders.

The amount of money allocated for the yearly salaries of the office of the president, including a new executive assistant, has increased from $55,000 last year, to $59,000 this fiscal year.

ASMSU is looking to get the word out about vacant general assembly seats, Porter said, because the more engaged general assembly representatives ASMSU has, the better ASMSU can do, he said. 

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