Three candidates are running for the role of student body treasurer in the 2025 student government elections at USC.
A common theme in the three campaigns is reforming the process for reimbursing student organizations
Ashley Reynolds, second-year risk management, insurance and finance student
Ashley Reynolds is a second-year risk management, insurance and finance student, and she is running on the same ticket as Maura Hamilton, the sole candidate for speaker of the student senate.
Her combination of academic experience, membership in a business fraternity and previous financial work with nonprofits qualifies her for the treasurer role, Reynolds said.
“I know what it’s like to handle budgets that are large,” Reynolds said
Her involvement with student organizations that have had trouble getting funding is part of what made her run for the office. Reynolds could bring a mix of this “organizational view” with her finance background to the office of treasurer, she said.
Reynolds does not have previous experience in USC’s Student Government, but she said that may be an advantage. She has been studying the finance codes for almost two months, and her outside perspective makes it easier for her to see issues, Reynolds said.
“I think I’m coming in without those rose-colored glasses on,” Reynolds said.
If elected, Reynolds aims to strictly enforce the 48-hour policy for requests to make it through the comptrollers. Requests getting stuck in this phase of the process is an issue for many organizations, Reynolds said.
According to Reynolds, helping student organizations understand the funding process better is another important task. Furthermore, she plans on working with the finance committee to change the financial codes to be less “cryptic,” she said.
Eleanor McMakin, third-year finance student
McMakin is a third-year finance student, who is currently serving as a comptroller in the Student Body Treasurer’s office, a position she has held for two years.
That position gives McMakin insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the current financial system, she said. Additionally, McMakin is the founder and president of Spur-ing Debate at USC, through which she has experienced the Student Government funding process from a club’s perspective, she said.
When that club went to Yale for a debate conference, it took four months to be reimbursed by the Student Government, and McMakin said she had to put the $5,000 cost on her own credit card and pay the interest.
That experience is what led McMakin to run for the position, she said.
“I feel like student organizations should not have to take out a loan in order to do… what they are required to do as an org,” McMakin said. “So that is my biggest issue, and that is the main thing that empowered me to run for treasurer.”
McMakin intends to hold the reimbursement office accountable if elected. While student organizations need to apply for funding 15 university days before an event, she has heard of clubs waiting three to six months before receiving reimbursements, she said.
“If student organizations are being held to a firm deadline… why is that not happening with the reimbursement office?” McMakin said.
Another one of McMakin’s plans is to allow student organizations to get payments in advance of events, so that they would not need to take on travel costs out-of-pocket.
Lester Lewis II, third-year criminology student
Lewis is a third-year criminology student who claimed that on his first day as treasurer, he will remove restrictions on student organization funding and return money to them.
Another goal of Lewis’ campaign is to raise a fund of $500,000 from donors to fund Student Government initiatives. He said that he and his advisors have already met with some potential donors, and plan to host a large dinner to raise this money.
Lewis intends to sign an order creating the fund on his first day, standing beside these donors as they sign checks for student organizations, he said.
The student activity fund, which is currently used to reimburse student clubs, could be suspended and returned to students if this new source of funding is achieved, Lewis said.
Another of Lewis’ objectives is to cut wasteful spending by Student Government. He said thousands of dollars have been spent on copy paper and staples, which he is not able to use.
“We are funding programs that make no sense,” Lewis said. “They offer no resources to us students.”
While he described the current Uber voucher program as “wasteful,” Lewis also described it as “underfunded” and aims to raise the yearly budget to $50,000, he said. He also wants to make Uber's available under this program for every major sport game.
Lewis also plans to increase the size of the treasurer’s staff, which he believes is currently insufficient.
“It is time that we get the monopoly busted up, and bring people in that actually care about the students,” Lewis said.
Editor's note: Dakota Morris contributed to reporting.