Wrapping up a week of campaigning and debates, the presidential and internal vice presidential candidates took the stage for the final Associated Students of UCI (ASUCI) election debate of the 2024-2025 term. The debate was hosted by the ASUCI Elections Commission and New University on April 10 at the Crystal Cove Auditorium in the Student Center.
Held just a week ahead of the annual ASUCI elections, the debates allowed candidates to speak directly to UCI’s student body as they answered questions regarding their campaigns, anticipated administrative actions and more. The debate was moderated by 2024-25 Elections Commissioner Jun Jang, New University Editor-in-Chief Skylar Paxton and Deputy Elections Commissioner for Candidate Coordination Nicole Nowak.
The debates were livestreamed by New University and recorded by ASUCI.
Harshvardhan Rathore and Victory Ogbonnaya are the two candidates running for internal vice president; however, only Rathore was present for the debate. Because of this, the debate was instead held as a forum and permitted time for audience questions.
While on stage, Rathore emphasized his plans to foster stronger connections between UCI students, ASUCI administration and campus resource centers — an issue that he deemed most important among the UCI student body. Initiatives such as stronger administrative presence at resource centers and club events, feedback boxes where students can submit recommendations, more diverse representation in student advisory boards and student luncheons were outlined as key components of this plan.
Rathore began his ASUCI career as an intern in the office of the internal vice president, motivating him to highlight his proposal for an intern rotation program where ASUCI interns can gain experience in multiple offices during their internships.
“What my plan is to involve [interns] more and engage them more in the office,” Rathore said at the debate. “If they do more policy research work, they get more involved with the advocacy side of ASUCI. They will generate an interest to work more and stay in the office and take leadership roles.”
As an international student studying at UCI, Rathore said he is keenly aware of the worries international students might have about voicing their concerns to campus administration.
“I, myself, am on a visa,” Rathore told New University in an interview following the debate. “With what’s happening around, I, myself, am afraid and pretty cautious, but I am aware that it is a pretty important issue to tackle, so feedback boxes should not have any names. It should be at places discreet, where you cannot be recorded.”
When asked about the expected budget cuts facing UCI, Rathore announced his plans for protecting campus resource centers.
“I know the DREAM Center is going through a 70% budget cut next year,” Rathore said in response to the moderators. “I want to advocate for, at the administrative level, that they have funds, that all these resource centers have adequate resources to serve students. If they want to put up events, ASUCI collaborates with them.”
After a 10-minute break following Rathore’s closing statement, the presidential debate began. All three candidates — Alondra Arevalo, Austin Pierce and Sahil Chekuri — were in attendance.
When asked about the most important issue to the student body, Arevalo said that the protection of DEI initiatives and campus resources is the biggest issue facing UCI students — a topic she kept central throughout her responses.
“These initiatives are being threatened on a day-to-day basis at the federal level,” Arevalo said. “And as ASUCI president, my main priority going into the next year will be focusing on protecting these resources, ensuring that they are continuously being funded and advocating for the students that use these resources on a daily basis.”
The recent disruptions to financial aid were repeatedly discussed by all three candidates. Pierce said he would make this issue a top priority in his first meeting with UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman.
“I believe that in my first meeting with the chancellor, in addition to the other issues brought up by my opponents, we need to demand more staffing for the Office of Financial Aid,” Pierce said. “I talk with students every single day who have no idea when their fees are due or how to submit the documents they need to submit. That would be my priority when meeting with the chancellor.”
In Arevalo’s response to the same question, she challenged Pierce’s solution to the financial aid crisis, citing the UC’s current hiring freeze.
In a rebuttal, Pierce referenced his conversations with Vice Provost Patricia Morales and clarified that his plan does not focus on hiring but instead on upgrading the office’s materials.
Arevalo then contributed a 15-second clarification.
“Firstly, on your platform specifically,” Arevalo said. “You did mention Patty Morales. You actually spelled her name wrong with an ‘E’ instead of an ‘A,’ but I digress. With financial aid specifically, we must focus on having a feasible plan for these students.”
Pierce rebutted, stating the mention of the spelling mistake was unprofessional, and clarified his previous statement.
According to the pre-agreed-upon rules, candidates were meant to have one 30-second rebuttal per question and one 15-second clarification per rebuttal. Here, moderator Jang accidentally allotted Pierce two rebuttals. Jang offered Arevalo and Chekuri one minute each to comment.
“I do want to recenter this conversation to the focus of financial aid,” Chekuri said. “The main issue was that students were not getting the right communication from the appropriate administrators and department heads to make sound decisions. As ASUCI president, should this situation arise, I would prioritize making sure that students know what information they need to know and how they can solve whatever issue comes up.”
Administrative advocacy was a recurring theme in Chekuri’s responses. When asked how he would support the student body’s right to advocate for themselves against possible opposition from university entities, Chekuri offered administrative protection and support.
“To me, opposition should never be a reason to back down,” Chekuri said. “Most importantly, I want to make sure that students’ rights are protected, especially when it comes to freedom of speech and freedom of expression. Those are fundamental rights that are granted and that our students have the right [to]. As president, I would make sure to prioritize safety and the protection of their rights.”
Anteaters can cast their vote on the elections website between Monday, April 14 and Friday, April 18.
Learn more about these candidates and their initiatives here.
Editor’s Note: A typo was fixed to correct a candidate’s name.
Annia Pallares zur Nieden is a Features Apprentice for the spring 2025 quarter. She can be reached at anniap@uci.edu.
Edited by Jaheem Conley.
