Gubernatorial Candidate 2021: Aayush Gupta

By: Elizabeth Arias and Lea Bartos

After seeing all the “incredible debate in the committee rooms, the legislators advocating for their bills, and the beauty of the capitol building,” Aayush Gupta was inspired to run for governor. Although there are many positive aspects to the program, there are some Gupta felt could be fixed. As a result, he decided to pursue the position of governor. He’s come up with many ideas to improve Youth and Government, such as altering the lobbyist scoring system, incorporating a more visual form of bill flow, and creating a Youth Compiled Statutes. 

For Gupta, the biggest obstacle has been the online setting as he values genuine connection. If elected, Gupta considers recruitment and training to be most challenging since “Both of them have suffered in the online format.” He believes this is an issue because many new members may struggle with  understanding the process of bill flow.

Outside of Youth and Government, Gupta is a part of the Waubonsie Valley Model UN, DECA, and takes ASL at his local community college. Gupta used to find it difficult to confidently voice his opinions. Through the program, he was able to overcome this difficulty. He feels that Youth and Government is one of the only clubs where real change is made and “ [he hopes] to be remembered for making large changes in the program.”