Hironao Okahana

Incumbent Okahana working on high school outreach, student training



By Karla Casillas
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer


Hironao “Hiro” Okahana, candidate for Associate Students Inc. vice president, said he is running for the students.

Okahana is an environmental sciences and policy major and the current ASI vice president. He has been a part of ASI for 2.5 years, first as senator for the College of Natural Sciences, then senator-at-large and finally as vice president and Senate chairman pro-tem. He was chosen as the 2004 Senator of the Year.

“ I enjoyed what I did this year and I would like to continue my work and serving the students of Cal State Long Beach,” Okahana said.

This year he was able to extend the campus shuttle services until midnight for students who study late on campus. He will continue working with the ASI president to increase campus security and accessibility.

He said he wants newly elected senators to be trained by the time the new school year begins. If they are educated on the issues, there will be a greater chance of getting things done, he said. He also wants to make sure students in committees know what they’re doing.  

Okahana wants to continue lobbying legislation to focus on education. He said he doesn’t think students need to face fee increases. In addition to fees, Okahana said he wants to continue lobbying for money to go to college prep programs for unrepresented high school populations. He also said he supports outreach efforts and will continue to provide resources for them.

“ I’ll be using the university to collaborate with student organizations who know what works to reach high school students,” Okahana said.

He said he wants to make sure the issues he works on will carry over because they are long-term.

“ They won’t change overnight and we need to continue working on them so they can take us seriously,” Okahana said.

As the incumbent, he does not need training on how to be vice president and said that is an advantage.

“ I’m confident I know what I’m doing here,” Okahana said.

He will continue strengthening the college councils to make them feel more like a part of the student government process.

He also said he is not running for office as something for a future political platform.

“ I have no political interests in this country,” Okahana said.

Calendar

Display Ads