Alex Gunter is running with Cody Maxon for the offices of president and vice president of ASUW. Gunter is currently a senator for the college of business and Maxon is a volunteer firefighter.
Gunter is also a five-year veteran of the United States Air Force and said his experience there will aid him in leading ASUW.
“The idea of service before self is, to me, there,” Gunter said. “When I was in the Air Force, I was a contracting officer. It was basically my job to allocate government funds and get the best prices for anything the Air Force needed.”
Gunter also said during a portion of his time in the Air Force, he had a high visibility job that saw him meet a lot of state legislators and the governor of Wyoming. He said that this time gave him the skills needed in order to know how to work functions and influence people to his point of view.
Maxon said that during his time as a volunteer firefighter, he served on the board. So, he also had to work within the constraints of a tight budget.
“Money is always a constant issue,” Maxon said. “What we are going to fund, so I have a pretty good idea how to negotiate finances. That is a big part of my beliefs, financial responsibility is important.”
The platform that Gunter and Maxon are running on, is demanding financial responsibility from the university, ensuring inclusiveness and promoting student growth.
“Years of working on multimillion-dollar contracts has kind of groomed me to figure out where we can trim fat,” Gunter said. “Where we can reallocate the cash flow and basically refunnel those dollars into student organizations that need them.”
Gunter said they will push for the university to adopt a system where all departments buy supplies together, rather than separately. He said that this will allow the university to bargain for lower prices and keep tuition costs low.
“The University of Wyoming is already a diverse student body population,” Gunter said. “What we want to do is, we want to really put some visibility on the university diversity offices and student support services. Every student on this campus should feel, not just that ‘Hey, yeah I go to this university,’ but that they are included and have a voice.”
Gunter said that he is running for ASUW president because he feels that his life experience will greatly assist the student body.
“I wanted to be able to influence positive change and I felt like I would be able to provide a lot of good and excellent leadership that ASUW and the university deserves,” Gunter said.
Maxon also said that his life experience is a valuable resource to the students of this university and that college is just not about the piece of paper you get at the end but, rather, it is about the connections you make and the experience.
