OU’s Campus Activities Council held a forum Monday in Meacham Auditorium to survey the executive chair candidate’s platforms.
Candidate Francesca Losh, a chemical biosciences senior, currently serves as the CAC executive treasurer and previously served as the CAC Spring Family Weekend Chair her sophomore year.
Aaron Reid, industrial and systems engineering and letters junior, is also running for CAC chair. Reid previously served as vice chair of public relations and then as executive chair for the CAC College Bowl.
During the forum, Losh and Reid introduced their platforms and answered questions from moderators Issac Kabrick, the Student Government Association’s election commissioner, Kobe Chen, the current CAC executive chair, and Kaly Phan, a junior news reporter for The Daily covering SGA.
Losh runs on a platform titled SOAR, which stands for enhancing student experience, intentional outreach with other campus organizations, increasing financial accessibility and continuous retention and engagements for CAC members or participants. These points are all part of Losh’s plan to keep the “student body's needs and interests in mind” as CAC executive chair.
“Campus deserves a leader who is passionate about making positive change for every student,” Losh said. “Someone who leads with honesty, sincerity and passion. A tangible platform and driven leaders will allow CAC to soar next year and for years to come.”
Reid’s platform surrounds the question of how to consistently deliver a multitude of engaging events to OU students. Reid said he plans to build community by making connections with OU alumni and revamping the CAC’s community events. Reid also wants to improve public relations and make sure CAC events are well known and well funded.
“How can we not be an organization that’s just kind of treading water and hopefully trying to stay afloat, but an organization that is swimming somewhere and that has a direction and a purpose,” Reid said. “I believe the best way to do that is to remember the purpose and what Campus Activities Council is, to center ourselves on our events and our involvement opportunities for all of our students.”
The candidates were first asked how they would advocate and support the 13 different events put on by the CAC. Both expressed their desire to support these events and advocate for them through CAC event chairs and connections to alumni.
While answering how they will continue to improve on events in light of the pandemic, both candidates promoted their own adaptive strategies. Reid said he wants to make sure there is always a backup plan, while Losh wanted to use what they learned from virtual events and support the event chairs.
“(I want to continue) being a resource for them, as well as programming events that cater to their relationship with time (even though), obviously, that is going to change at any time and we don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow,” Losh said. “But once again, serving as a resource for administrators will help us to continue to grow.”
To handle financial pressures on budgeting, Losh said she plans to evaluate individual budgets and bring the executive council into the conversation, using their past experiences to make the best spending choices. Reid said he wants to address budgeting by looking at where cuts can be made and for long-term contracts that would save money.
The candidates were also asked how they will push for more diversity, equity and inclusion in their staff and other CAC ventures. Losh said she plans to help grow the community experience coordinators within CAC, whose role is to reach out to student organizations on campus. Reid also plans to use the connections CAC has with organizations on campus including Greek life.
“Let’s interact with these organizations and these communities, so they feel more comfortable in organizations like CAC … partnering with them in community events and (also) getting connected with leaders of (these) organizations,” Reid said.
In response to a question from the audience about what new things they will bring to the CAC, Losh said she would implement a development day for first-year CAC members to teach them how to build resumes and would promote the CAC during the summer with New Sooner Orientation and Camp Crimson to help plug first-year students into campus life. Reid said he will use his experiences with various organizations, including the Leadership Association and Presidents' Community Scholars, to formulate greater connections.
“The big question was what kind of candidates do you want to see,” Losh said. “In order to create positive impact, you need a leader who instills confidence in others and continues to motivate them in their leadership.”
Voting for CAC executive chair opened 9 a.m. Tuesday and will close 7 p.m. Wednesday and is accessible on the OU engage website. Individuals can also vote for Student Bar Association president and undergraduate student congress representatives in social sciences, university college, architecture, atmospheric and geographic sciences, business, communication, engineering, finance and accounting humanities, life and science districts during this time.
