The Associated Students, Inc. of Cal State LA have opened applications for positions in student leadership for the 2025 to 2026 school year. All positions are open for students to apply, including ASI President, Chief of Staff and student senators, with a deadline of Sunday, March 2.
ASI is the student governance structure of the university, consisting of elected student leaders with the purpose “to protect the rights and interests of the individual student and the entire student body,” according to the University website. ASI also acts as a “learning laboratory,” where students can gain experience working in a political environment.
Yahir Flores, the current ASI President, said that ASI will be holding events and other forms of outreach throughout the month to get students interested in civic engagement. As the application period closes, students will also be able to meet the candidates running for office and ask questions about their plans and platforms.
Flores said that getting engaged with elections is a way for students to take advantage of the fees and tuition that they pay.
“It’s part of their civic opportunity of getting involved on a campus level in an election process, student government process that can provide a little bit of a glimpse and insight if they haven’t participated already,” Flores said. “It’s a good opportunity for folks to really get to interact with leaders and sort of see what is being brought to the table.”
Some of the accomplishments by ASI over the last school year include the S.C.O.R.E. program, which “encourages faculty to adopt high-quality, no-cost learning resources for their classes,” according to the University Library website. The intent of the program is to lessen the cost burden on students and allow teachers to have more readily-available textbooks and learning materials for their classrooms.
“Given the cost of attendance and the tuition increase, hopefully this offset some of that cost,” Flores said. The S.C.O.R.E. program replaced the textbook voucher system, which was ended due to low enrollment, per a previous University Times report.
Flores also said club funding has also been increased this past school year, streamlining the process so that students can more easily request funding for their activities.
Election turnout in past ASI elections has been historically low, Flores said, with numbers in the past elections being in the low to mid hundreds — a fraction of the total student population of Cal State LA. He said ASI is taking steps to increase outreach and alert students of their civic opportunities. One effort is through the “Own It” campaign, in which students can often spot big banners throughout campus and scan a QR code to be brought to the ASI page.
“I think for this year and last year, there was more of an intentional focus to it, where we’re not just promoting the elections, but we’re encouraging students to tap into your inner leadership,” Flores said. “You have what it takes if you have a passion of wanting to get involved or you just wanna take that first step — that’s all you need.”
After applications close on March 2, ASI will have campus-wide candidate campaign weeks from March 17 through April 11, where students will be able to meet the candidates. Voting week is from April 14 to 18, where students can cast their votes through the GET system. Election results will be announced on Tuesday, April 22, at 1 p.m. at the University-Student Union plaza.
To learn more about ASI and the upcoming elections, as well as applications for candidate positions, visit asicalstatela.org/general-election.
