Presidential candidate: Jamison Jarosz

Presidential Candidate: Jamison Jarosz
Party: Freedom Party
Hometown: Schaghticoke, N.Y.
High School: Hoosic Valley
Major: Engineering Science
Age: 19
Clubs/Organizations: Student Senate, Investment Club, Entrepreneurship Club.

Why did you decide to attend Hudson Valley?

“I saw that Hudson Valley had some incredible opportunities at a highly affordable price. They also just got a track team, so I was very excited about that.”

Why are you running for this position?

“I believe that I can really rally the student body together and make Hudson Valley a better place.”

What are your qualifications for running?

“I am very compassionate, and I like to see things from other people’s perspective and put myself in their shoes. Rather than do what I want, I tend to put other people’s needs above mine. I am also dedicated to Hudson Valley.”

What are three adjectives to describe your leadership ability?

“Enthusiastic, organized, receptive.”

Can you name five initiatives you would like to focus on?

“I want to bring more food diversity on campus and lower food prices. Right now, every year there has been a contact for the food services on campus. One company, Prime, wins it every year, and they have a monopoly on all of the food on campus. If you are in a club and you want to buy your club food, you are unable to purchase food that does not come from their company.”

“I have talked to a lot of students on campus. Common complaints are that the food is very expensive and sometimes lacks in flavor. This stems from a lack of competition on campus. If we could allow other companies in so that there could be more competition, prices would go down, and the quality would have to go up.”

“I would like to also show more appreciation toward veterans. One way I would really like to do so is create veteran parking spots. They would work very much like faculty/staff where there are parking sports specifically dedicated to the five branches of the military and the DOD. I think that would show a lot of appreciation to them, along with adding a discount in the bookstore for them.”

“I am interested in lowering the technology fee on campus. Each semester, each student is allotted $30 in printing. A lot of students do not use all of that money, and the leftover money does not roll over into the next semester and is not returned to the student.”

“I am also interested in decorating the parking garage with a mural. It is a similar idea to what some people did to a parking garage in Albany, where someone painted some bluebirds on it. A lot of people complain that while the campus is very architecturally modern, certain buildings do lack in visual appeal. I think adding a mural would really add a lot of beauty to campus.”

“I want to lower the parking fee on campus. It is currently $86.50 per semester to park, which is quite a bit. I believe that we could lower that. I do understand that the parking fee is probably going toward paying off the parking garage and probably the new CAMS building, however, realistically, we should be able to lower it by at least several dollars.”

What has been your greatest experience during the race so far?

“When I was campaigning, I got to go around and talk to people in all different degree programs from all different backgrounds, and it really [gave me] a better appreciation for why I am trying to get into office. I am representing real people, not just numbers.”

What would you say the biggest problem with student life at Hudson Valley is?

“The biggest problem with student life at Hudson Valley is the lack of comradery between students. It is very difficult to get commuting students to really connect with each other around commonalities.”

How would you fix that problem?

“I want to introduce a collaborative program between various degree programs, [which] will allow students with different educational backgrounds to get together and work on a project. In high schools there are robotics teams where a group of students come together to build a robot. This would be similar, only the project would not necessarily be a robot, and the group of students would be from different majors.”

Previous leadership experience:

Founder and president of the Hoosic Valley Photo and Video Club
President of the Students Against Destructive Decisions, or SADD, Club at Hoosic Valley
Senior Senator
President of Investment Club