The few independents that showed up to the Meet Your Candidate event on May 15 were in their first year in attendance of De Anza who didn’t necessarily know anyone within  the political spheres of influence of the coalitions. 

They faced the intimidating task of laying out their platforms in front of the coalitions and all of their uniformed supporters clapping every time a speaker on their side made a good point.   

Senatorial candidate #47 Jose Avalos Jose believes more alumni should donate to their old community college and that money can be donated from private sector companies like Apple but in more ways than just computers. 

He said corporate philanthropy would help the corporations in the long run by putting better educated and equipped workers in the job pool. He also believes that student elections should not be about coalitions and popularity contests, but about an individual building a relationship with a large group of people. 

Heidi Kang running alongside her sister Jane, chose to run independently because she believes politicians should facilitate a crowd rather than talk up on a platform. She is fighting for better funding for arts programs as well as the option for candidates to run directly for the position they want in the DASB, rather than being elected treasurer, for example, in their own group post-election.