In an uncontested race, Shahzeb Naqi ran for the position of Associated Student Government president. Mesa College elections were held May 3 through 7. Students voted online or dropped off paper ballots in the Mesa College Associated Students’ Office.

Only students who have previously served on the ASG committee are allowed to run for higher positions such as president. Other students dropped out of the race due to ineligibility stemming from lack of time or interest or poor grades. Naqi will automatically be the next president because opposing candidates have dropped out of the race.

Naqi has many accomplishments as a Senator Representative, one of which was creating Student Appreciation Days. Naqi wanted to reward students who go to Mesa College. Last semester Naqi held two Student Appreciation days, where ASG handed out free water and snacks.

“People go through so much just to pay for their classes and it’s our [ASG’s] own little way of showing appreciation for their contribution to the community at Mesa [College].”

One of Naqi’s goals is to increase student enthusiasm. Naqi noticed that many students simply go to Mesa for classes. He wants to create a place where students can hang out and get to know each other while boosting support for their school.

“Students lack school spirit,” said Naqi.

Naqi intends to increase the number of Student Appreciation days each semester to improve student’s ability to meet and enjoy activities on campus other than class.

Another goal of Naqi’s is to increase student scholarships. With budget cuts, Naqi would find anyway possible to increase the budget for scholarships stating that if he had to, he would pay out of pocket for them.

Naqi is committed to bringing wireless internet throughout Mesa’s campus. When he was a senator, Naqi brought wifi to the bookstore, cafeteria, AS office, and the quad. His next step would be to provide wireless internet to the G-building.

Other accomplishments of Naqi’s include bringing transfer and budget workshops to campus, helping create textbook rental programs, and representing students on Capital Hill.

Running mate and Vice President to-be Daniel Tjandra will join Naqi in the fall semester. The new senators will include Joel Espinosa, German Garcia, Kevin P. Michaels, and Eve Wilson. German was the only senator that ran without any goals to incorporate into next year’s budget, although he will still win the position because the senators ran an uncontested race for four new positions.

“Each and every candidate should have background info and plans for the future as this would tell the students who they are voting for,” said Naqi.

Naqi is a sophomore and a double major in engineering and economics. His term will last one year.