Student Government Association Senator Devin Ashe is running for SGA president this week on a campaign of action and an honest student government.

Ashe, a Newton native, is a senior at the University of Massachusetts, double majoring in Chinese and political science, who also serves on the Ways and Means Committee of the SGA Senate and works for the Irish Student Union. He serves as senator for the SGA for commuters at UMass, and is co-creator of Humans vs. Zombies, a popular game from last semester.

One issues garnering strong debate among the presidential candidates this election is how to free up finances on campus. Ashe believes his work on the Ways and Means Committee is pivotal to finding ways to fairly free up money on campus, specifically for Registered Student Organizations.

“We look through the budgets step by step to see what was spent and allocated in the past to reach a fair money amount for the Capital Reserves Fund,” he said. “The RSOs were hit with big cuts in the past, but now have begun to get level funding, thanks to the recent fee increase.”

The issue of to what degree diversity organizations such as the ALANA caucus should be involved in student government is also a campus controversy. One presidential candidate has expressed his discontentment with past caucuses, while another one carries the endorsement of the present ALANA caucus. Ashe has taken a positive view concerning the issue.

“The ALANA and other organizations such as Student Bridges are wonderful examples of how students can band together,” he said. Citing the ingenuity of these programs he added, “They’re good at passing policy, and if they take initiatives, real results follow.”

Even though the ALANA caucus has endorsed another candidate in the race, Ashe said he would still work with them if elected. Ashe believes his experience with the Ways and Means Committee of the SGA Senate have also prepared him for the position of president.

“A big thing we do is look through budget packets to assemble new ones, which really gives us a sense of what the RSOs go through,” he said.

There is also some concern that the majority of the student body isn’t interested in student politics. Ashe believes a cause of this is that promises are not being delivered on.

“My main philosophy is if we have a practical, realistic and honest student government, students will want to get involved,” he said.

The candidates have been given a $100 budget to be spent either at the print shop or the Craft Center for their campaigns. The elections for SGA president and trustee will be today and tomorrow.

Adam Coulter can be reached at [email protected].