ASUO Continued from Page 1 to a person who wanted to change things. "That trip taught me a lot about people," Bowen said. "It changed my priorities and changed what I wanted to do (at the Universi ty). I had always been progressive and I've always been involved.” The next school year Bowen became very involved with stu dent government and student programs, and as ASUO pro grams director was able to meet with many of the students who were involved with campus pol itics. "I heard all the things that stu dents wanted to change," Bowen said, "and I began to understand the people that were involved in different issues." Collins Puente began her activism ns a member of MEC'hA and worked her way into n posi tion as co-director of the program. She then went on to become a student senator and ASUO mul ticultural advocate. "1 love to know ns much as possible and to be involved as much as possible,” Collins Puente said. She grew up with parents who were very active in political issues such as the anti-nuclear movement and issues dealing with Guatemala, the country where she was born and where much of her family still lives. When winter term came around last school year, the usu al question was being asked around the ASUO office: "So who's running?" Bowen answered the call because he believed he and the students (mainly those in the stu dent unions) could work well together. The second question that peo ple began asking in winter was, "Why did he pick her?” Bowen asked one of the most controversial and outspoken stu dents at the University to Im* his running mate: Collins Puente. rue photo Eric Bowen and Diana Collins Puente speak at the ASUO debates during last spring's student government elections. "She had always been contro versial and she isolated a lot of people. Hut I liked her politics," Bowen said. "It was not going to Iks easy sailing , it never is.” "I hesitated," said Collins Puente about running for the ASUO Executive. "I wanted to make sunt that I was the Imst |ter son for the job and I worried about running against Leslie (Warren, who ran for ASUO pres ident). Mv concern was that the election would polarize the stu dents because the two campaigns had similar stances." This meant that even small divisions in opinion would have to be turned into huge gulfs if vot ers were going to understand the differences between the candi dates. Very few people, if any. would have been able to predict the depths to which the elections won hi sink. On April 14. the front-pane headline in the Emerald read “Candidate may have violated ASUO rules." "That week was the hardest time in the campaign," Bowen said. "The issue was not doing us and the students any good." Collins Puente agreed. "Personally it was very painful." she said. "I had to make the distinction between what could be expected in a political race, and what was personal " Soon, most of campus knew ACCENTON ERIC BOWEN AGE: 22 MAJOR: Political Science FAVORITE DRIKING ESTABLISH MENT: High Street SPARE-TIME ACTIVITIES: Soccer and reading TRAVEL EXPERIENCE: Southern Europe and North Alnca that Collins Puente tm