Carter Hunter and Amanda Husted have both been at-large senators for one year, but they don’t feel their lack of time in Students’ Association will hinder their ability to serve as its president and vice president. 

The pair is running on a platform based on three major pillars: transparency, outreach and progress. 

Hunter and Husted aim to start live streaming meetings, tabling in the Student Union and revamping the Rabbit Report to include the SA agenda and more details about the meeting — all in an effort to be more transparent with the student body. 

“We recognize the importance of the student body getting information from Senate that way we can do our jobs as representatives,” Hunter said. “Because without being able to reach out to them or get them the information they need we can’t get feedback.” 

Hunter said the recent uproar with SA’s lack of communication regarding the concealed carry on campus bill “reassured” that he and Husted were running on the right principles. 

“Obviously, we wouldn’t be running on it [transparency] if we thought they [SA] were doing such a great job,” Hunter said. “We’re not immune to that and it just happens because we get into a routine where we go to meetings, do our stuff and finish our jobs.”

Hunter and Husted believe regularly conversing with their constituents is an integral part of being successful representatives, which is why outreach is another major pillar of their campaign. 

“I think it’s just showing students what SA is because honestly, not a lot of students on campus know what SA is other than a group of people who dress up in suits on Monday nights,” Husted said. 

Husted thinks familiarizing students with SA will encourage them to vote and form connections with their representatives. 

Last year, the presidential election was uncontested and less than four percent of the student body voted. In 2017, the last time SA had a competitive election, 17 percent of students cast their ballots. 

The third pillar Hunter and Husted are running on is progress, and while they each have accomplished things so far in their tenure as senators, they hope to go further with new and existing programs. 

Hunter and Husted want to further push accessibility and mental health compensation for students. 

“One way we’ve been addressing accessibility in our campaign is talking more about and doing a little more digging into the snow removal policy on campus,” Husted said. “It’s snowing outside, and when you think about accessibility as far as physical disabilities, how can we expect students to get to class?”

They also want to further advocate for mental health days for students who suffer from mental illnesses.  

Hunter and Husted said they’ve seen a lot of areas they want to improve and feel they are ready to take on a bigger role in SA.

“We love tradition at SDSU, but we also recognize the desire or the need to change or evolve with diversity and inclusivity and, you know, generating that community,” Hunter said.