Similar platforms, different personalities

Responsibility, power and charisma are words that come to mind for many students when they hear "ASUW president."

Now, juniors Tyler Dockins and Chris Paredes, both ASUW veterans, are telling the student body they're ready to step up to the plate and take on the position.

Dockins describes himself as a "talkative, energetic" guy, as opposed to his opponent, Paredes, who some would say is more laid back.

Dockins said he hopes to use his energy to reach out to different community networks that others may be too intimidated to approach.

For example, Dockins said he rallied 20-30 of his Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity brothers to wear gay pride T-shirts. He also recruited five new members to the ASUW's Committee Organizing Rape Education (CORE).

Dockins said he isn't afraid of rejection and has developed a thick skin when it comes to criticism.

"I think I've been able to bring people back into areas that aren't as accepting," Dockins said. "I'm able to recruit people [HTML_REMOVED] I have a strength to go into communities that people are afraid of because they think they'll get rejected and get some positive results."

Dockins is hoping to see positive results in this year's ASUW presidential election. Voting will take place online May 7-9, and the new president will be named May 10.

Dockins has many plans to improve the University, but one of the most important things to him is internal communication between the ASUW Board of Directors (BOD) and the ASUW Student Senate. The two groups have had a history of conflict, and Dockins thinks enough is enough.

"The culture of ASUW is that there has always been a power struggle between the BOD and the senate, and that picture gets painted by few. ... That's not the feeling ... or the sentiment of all the students that work in the ASUW," Dockins said. "I think that feud is a problem that needs to go away. We're all students, and we're all trying to do the same thing."

Other issues important to Dockins are having more counselors available to students for academic advising and helping to set up substantial forms of childcare services for students with families.

Dockins' desire to help others may stem from his mother, with whom he traveled around his home state of Arizona to help families advocate for the continuation of social services for those with disabilities [HTML_REMOVED] an issue that hits close to home for his family because his brother has Fragile X Syndrome and autism. Together, Dockins and his mother were able to gather 1,500 letters from families to send to Arizona state representatives.

Dockins got his start with the ASUW by serving as senator for the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity his freshman and sophomore years. His junior year, he took the position of director of programming on the BOD for the ASUW, serving as the board liaison to arts and entertainment, CORE and the Student Health Consortium.

Though his ideas for campus change are similar to Dockins', Paredes' personality is quite the opposite.

Paredes is soft-spoken and often pauses before answering a question. You might have to a wait for it, but when Paredes answers, he does so with graciousness and poise.

Their personalities seem to be the distinguishing factor between these two juniors; their platforms are very much the same.

Some issues important to Paredes, who sits on the task force for student parent resources and services, is having more resources available to students with families. He also wants to work on more commuter outreach programming. Paredes is a commuter himself, riding the bus from Tacoma every day. He said he personally understands the disconnected feeling many commuters have and wants to reach out to embrace them as part of the University community.

"Commuters are a majority on campus but don't get as represented because of programming," he said.

Other important issues for Paredes are hiring more faculty as student numbers increase and setting up centralized resources for dorm residents by having academic advisers come to them once a quarter to help answer questions.

Paredes also heavily emphasizes safety. He said he was disturbed by the stalkers and shootings on campus and wants to bring a renewed focus on safety.

Safety is somewhat of a personal issue for Paredes: He was mugged at gunpoint in March before going to a soccer game in south Seattle.

"Unfortunately, [I] ran across someone that was not a good person. ... It was dark, not a well-lit area, [but] only a couple of blocks, so I figured I'd be fine," he said. "A young man approached me and pulled out a gun and said, 'I'll just take your money now.' I was actually taken aback. [I] made the rational choice and just handed over my wallet. I was lucky enough that he didn't do anything from there."

Paredes said this incident made him realize that sometimes people fool themselves with a false sense of security. He wants to use his frightening experience to help other students make safe decisions.

"When I heard about the shootings on campus, it got me thinking about how others are fearing for their safety. I could really understand where people were coming from [HTML_REMOVED] not feeling safe," he said.

Paredes was involved in the Associated Student Body in high school and got his start with the ASUW as a senator representing the Resident Hall Student Association. He credits his parents with instilling in him a strong sense of "social responsibility." His father works for a social service agency, and from an early age, Paredes "saw what a difference helping someone else can make in their life."

After graduation, Paredes, an English and American ethnic studies major, wants to be a family practitioner. He is considering programs like Teach for America or the Peace Corps.

"Something to give back to the community: That's important to me," he said.

A third candidate, Gavin Tucker, is also running, but was unavailable for comment. Tucker is a transfer student from Spokane Community College, where he currently serves as the Associated Student Council president. Next year will be his first year at the UW.

Reach reporter Erin Hicks at news@thedaily.washington.edu.