Cronis surprises, picks ticket

March 9, 2009 by Haley Etchison 

Incumbent president chooses seasoned senator, fresh face

In a move that re-established his political leanings in last year’s race, Student Body President Adam Cronis selected his running mates for the 2009 – 2010 CSUN executive board.

At the March 2 Senate meeting, Cronis announced his re-election ticket will include three-year Senator Victor Barragan (sciences) and a new face to student government, Daniel Gonzalez. Neither Barragan nor Gonzalez were affiliated with the controversial Scarlet & Gray Party that opposed Cronis and sought to win seats in the Senate last election – but both their opponents were.

Education Senator Paige Hanson, Barragan’s competition, was surprised by Cronis’ decision to endorse any candidates.

“I wasn’t sure why he chose a ticket,” she said, “because he is running unopposed.”

Cronis said he “would have liked to have had an opponent,” but, reflecting on his tenure as president, talked about how he has grown as a leader since his close race last year.

“First coming in, I had my own straight ahead, focused, eyes-on-the-prize [approach] and I think that I’ve grown from that quite a bit,” he said.

Hanson, confident that the CSUN representatives will work together effectively no matter who is elected, offers hope that the tensions of the past are behind student leaders.

“Either way, this definitely won’t affect anything afterward,” she said. “We have to work hard so whoever wins, the [executive] board will run smoothly.”

Gonzalez addressed the Senate at last Monday’s meeting, listing his qualifications for the office of vice president and saying, “I feel that come April 1 and 2 the students will choose who they want to represent them and I hope I can count on your support.”

His opponent, business Senator David Rapoport, was unavailable for comment.

Senior accounting major Lisette Mungaray expressed the sentiments of students looking forward to a new phase of student government. Regarding the prospect of Gonzales being elected without prior experience in CSUN, she said, “He would bring a fresh perspective. To just keep all the same people in the organization is not a good thing. “We need people from different people from different backgrounds.”

However, as Mungaray pointed out, students should be confident that Gonzalez must be confident before the election that he could make a quick transition into the political spotlight on campus.

Vik Sehdev, student body vice president and Cronis’ running mate last year, explained his colleague’s preparedness for another year of service.  He said the groundwork for a second term has already been laid.

“It’s not going to stop with what you see right now,” Sehdev said. “It’s just going to get faster. It’s just going to get bigger and stronger.”

It remains to be seen whether the tensions that fueled last year’s executive board elections will reappear in light of Cronis’ endorsements or whether his actions as president have been enough to win the support of past rivals.