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- From early student government to the ASI presidency
- Election day and the first responsibilities
- Priority one: affordability with measurable changes
- How ideas become initiatives
- Semester conversion: a top concern this spring
- Communications and where to find updates
- What to expect in the coming months
Tanner Schinderle, a third-year political science student and the newly elected Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) president, takes office June 15 with a clear focus on student costs and the looming campus calendar change. His recent work — from launching a grocery shuttle to pressing for clearer landlord communication — positions him to address issues that will affect daily life for thousands of students this fall.
From early student government to the ASI presidency
Schinderle traces his interest in campus leadership back to middle school civic activities and deepened it at Cal Poly through the ASI Executive Staff program. He later ran that program as secretary and rose to chief of staff this year, managing the executive cabinet and coordinating initiatives across multiple departments.
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Outside of meetings, he says he stays grounded playing pickleball and exploring local food — interests that illustrate how his campus experience shapes his priorities for student life.
Election day and the first responsibilities
On election night Schinderle described a mix of surprise and responsibility. The vote totals, he said, made the transition from campaign rhetoric to real obligations unmistakable: the job now requires delivering on promises and preparing for a packed year ahead.
Celebrations were low-key — a few meetings followed by an evening with friends — then straight back to the work of onboarding and planning.
Priority one: affordability with measurable changes
Affordability was the central theme of Schinderle’s campaign. He identifies three concrete areas where students should notice change within his term: dining costs, housing transparency and awareness of financial resources.
- Lower-cost dining options: efforts to increase affordable meal choices on campus so students won’t face frequent $20-plus meal prices.
- Greater landlord transparency: pushing for clearer, direct communication between property owners and student tenants to reduce confusion and disputes off campus.
- Resource outreach: a campaign to boost awareness of benefits like EBT and where students can use them locally for groceries.
- Expanded grocery shuttle: building on a pilot that attracted thousands of riders to make grocery trips more reliable and regular.
How ideas become initiatives
Schinderle credits collaboration and practical planning. Projects often begin with conversations — club leaders, student groups and advisers — then move to a timeline with achievable milestones. He warns against “platform promises” he can’t implement, favoring items he believes are deliverable during a one-year term.
He points to the grocery shuttle as a case study: the program went from initial planning in July to a functioning service by October, demonstrating the team’s ability to move quickly on student needs.
Semester conversion: a top concern this spring
The campus-wide shift to semesters is generating widespread uncertainty about registration, course loads and degree planning. Schinderle says the confusion ranges from students unsure how many classes to enroll in to misconceptions about remaining on the quarter system.
To address this, ASI is coordinating a semester conversion advising fair this week in the UU Plaza, bringing college advising centers, university advisers and conversion leaders together so students can get specific, face-to-face guidance now that semester course listings have opened.
Schinderle sees his role as a translator and amplifier: he attends planning meetings where many students are not represented, distills complex information and pushes it back out to the student body so people can make informed choices.
Communications and where to find updates
ASI will use social platforms, a centralized section on its website and partnerships with campus media to distribute updates. Schinderle emphasized the goal of putting verified information in one place and making it easy to find ahead of critical deadlines.
What to expect in the coming months
Students should watch for expanded shuttle schedules, announcements about new dining options, clearer rental guidance and ongoing semester-conversion resources. Schinderle plans to remain visible — both online and on campus — as projects move from pilot to permanence.
When asked a light-hearted question about who he’d have dinner with, Schinderle picked musician Noah Kahan, citing a recent album and documentary he’s been enjoying — a reminder that even student leaders have off-campus interests that keep them relatable.
The interview was conducted by a campus reporter and edited for length and clarity. An audio version of the conversation is available through the news outlet’s channels.
