Presidential candidate: Dalton Higgenbottom
With 18 credits, an internship in the PSU student government, and a new membership in the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, Dalton Higginbottom was a busy first-year student.
But Higginbottom still had time for fun. After getting to know the other members of his fraternity and by being enrolled in the First Year Experience program, Higginbottom used his free time to go to concerts and other events around Portland.
Now, as a fourth-year student, Higginbottom is running for president of the Associated Students of Portland State University (ASPSU). Currently the president of Phi Delta Theta, Higginbottom said he hopes to open up student government to Portland State students.
The arts and letters major said that his two years of experience as an intern in ASPSU, during his freshman and sophomore years, have helped him see how student government has been effective and ineffective over the last few years. Now, Higginbottom said he wants to make the student government office a more welcoming environment.
Higginbottom is running with vice presidential candidate Seth Angove, now the president of the Kappa Sigma fraternity at Portland State. Higginbottom said that he and Angove realized they shared opinions about the way ASPSU should be run and decided to run together.
Higginbottom moved to Bandon, Ore., from the Los Angeles area, which he said made him miss the big city.
Now at Portland State, Higginbottom said he is excited to be back in a city with options.
“There isn’t a day that you can’t go out and find something to do,” he said.
Higginbottom moved to Bandon, a town of just under 3,000 people, during his sophomore year of high school. He said becoming involved in his high school student government, in sports and as a cheerleader, helped him feel comfortable in a new environment.
Higginbottom said his high school experiences helped him know how to get involved in college and help him figure out what he wants to do. After he graduates in 2008, Higginbottom plans to attend graduate school to earn a master’s degree in educational administration.
Vice presidential candidate: Seth Angove
The youngest of six children, Seth Angove was able to learn from the choices his siblings made.
“It’s helped me to look at other people and learn from their mistakes,” said Angove, a junior English major at Portland State.
As a candidate for student body vice president, Angove said he now hopes to learn from the shortfalls and accomplishments he has seen in the current student government. Running alongside Associated Students of Portland State University (ASPSU) presidential candidate Dalton Higginbottom, Angove said he wants to make student government more accessible to the average student.
“I felt disconnected from student government,” Angove said about when he first came to Portland State.
As the president of the Kappa Sigma fraternity at Portland State, Angove said he thinks he can help foster greater student involvement in ASPSU. Angove has worked on fundraising events for the fraternity, such as an up-coming teeter-totter marathon that will generate money for a nonprofit like the Boys and Girls Club.
He also serves on the board of directors as a student member of Housing Northwest, a nonprofit company that once ran all Portland State student housing.
Angove came to Portland State directly out of high school. Originally from Sublimity, Ore., a town of fewer than 2,500 people, Angove was excited to go to school and get a college experience.
Angove had planned to go to Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., but Gonzaga changed his financial aid package at the last minute and he decided not to go. After he drove down Southwest Broadway and by Portland State, he decided PSU was the school for him.
“I love it here,” Angove said. “I don’t think I would have been as happy at Gonzaga.”
With three years of participation in Greek Life and having served on various committees, Angove said he thinks the next step is to run for office. He said he is ready for the vice president job, despite a lack of experience in ASPSU.
“Being a student here from the start gives you a good perspective,” he said. “I give a fairly accurate representation of students on campus.”