PRESIDENT, PRIYANKA SHARMA '09: Undergraduate Senate Chair, Queer Straight Alliance Core member, business manager of the Advertising Division for Stanford Student Enterprises, founder for committees for international need-blind admissions, better classes on South Asia and the Middle East, committee member for gender-neutral housing

VICE PRESIDENT, JACK CACKLER '09: Coordinator for Camp Kesem, Inter-Fraternity Council Community Service Chair, Bridge peer counselor, FACE AIDS Chapter Programming Team, peer mentor, member of Sigma Chi

The Stanford Daily (TSD): Priyanka, you are the ultimate ASSU insider. How can you bring change to an organization that you have spent so much time within?

Priyanka Sharma (PS): I think being an insider is crucial to bringing about change. An insider can never do it alone, and that’s why I think Jack is so helpful. Myopic visions kill insiders. With my technical know-how and Jack’s big ideas, and our joint thoughts together, we can bring about the change that many can promise and few can bring about.

TSD: Jack, you don’t have any ASSU experience, and are best known for your tree stunts. Can we take somebody who ate a live snake seriously?

Jack Cackler (JC): The focus of the campaign is not my run for tree, but what we can do for the University. I really wanted to make a difference in Stanford my senior year . . . I went overboard [in the tree campaign], I had a serious lack of judgment. I understand the band’s decision. But when one door closes, the other opens. I saw this as a great opportunity . . . It can be about subsidizing birth control, reopening the CoHo. I’m a strong believer that there are many things you can do in life to make a difference.

TSD: So if you had the option next year of being either the tree or the ASSU vice president, which role would you pick?

JC: My role to best serve Stanford is as ASSU Executive.

TSD: Would you like to elaborate on that?

JC: No.

TSD: How does your platform differ from the other executive platforms?

JC: Everyone else that is running is great. It’s going to come down to what the focus is on, and how we can realistically achieve the promises we are making.

PS: The key difference — ours might not be the sexiest platform, but it’s the most realistic. We are making promises we are 100 percent sure we can keep. There is not one sentence that we are dubious about. One major part is student advocacy advisory board. This year as Senate Chair, I noticed that ASSU does things for student groups, but everyone hates us — we are lacking. We are relegated to being an opinion generator. That’s not the way it should be. We should be providing resources.

TSD: Priyanka, what have you accomplished as undergraduate senate chair?

PS: I was a first-term senator, and the first ever chair who was a first term. My learning curve was very steep. This senate was hailed as the most contentious senate ever, and it’s working well. Running it has been such a big accomplishment. Every senator has done such a great job. We entered the senate a contentious bunch; we are leaving it as friends.

Another important item is the gender-neutral housing program for this year. When the committee was set up, they wanted to focus on transgender people only. But I knew it was not just a transgender option. You need to have a safe home space, which is why I rounded up a bunch of people who were very passionate — now people are working on the pilot program for this year’s draw. We want it to become a full-time program.

TSD: The ASSU is often very divided. You have been endorsed by the Stanford Review; those receiving this endorsement have traditionally been at odds with SOCC-endorsed ASSU members. How will you overcome division in the ASSU?

JC: We want to reach out to everyone on campus. We were endorsed by Review. They see us as the most capable execs. Does that mean we will work less closely with SOCC? No. We want to reach out to people all over campus. This would be an executive of the entire campus.