Interview by Parisa Mirzadegan, Executive Content Editor
Why do you want to be IVP?
The Internal Vice President’s main focus is Associated Students, therefore they are responsible for setting the climate of AS for the year. In my last two and a half years here, Associated Students has become the center of my life, but that is not the case for a majority of gauchos. I believe that needs to be changed and I want to change it. There is so much potential for the Association to help improve students’ lives, but it cannot be reached unless WE, as students, organize, orient, and publicize better with our peers. I want to be the one to lead this change, to fix our internal issues, and to make the Association a bigger part of students’ lives. The only way to better serve students is by making the association a more cohesive unit, so that we can work together to reach out to as many students as possible. Associated Students has become such a large part of my life and I hope to spread that same feeling to more students.
What is the number one issue at UCSB that you want to solve as IVP? How would you go about solving it?
The number one issue that I want to solve as IVP is the lack of student jobs. In today’s economy, it is essential to have previous job experience to get a full-time job. Therefore, I plan on creating not only more on-campus student jobs, but also more student services. One way I want to do this is by creating a student-run computer repair shop where students can have their laptops fixed at a free or discounted rate. We would hire students who are computer savvy so students can gain experience to add to their resumes to help them get a full-time job upon graduation.
What will you do to ensure the effective and accountable use of student fees?
Since every student pays $181.44 into the Association every quarter, it is essential that students know where their fees are going. I want to mandate that spending reports be turned in every quarter by each University Designated lock-in fee to see where these fees are going towards because currently, there is no oversight on these fees. Furthermore, I want to work with our OPP presidential candidate, Ali Guthy, to post quarterly balance sheet updates on the Associated Students’ website so that students can see exactly where their student fees are going as they are being spent.
How do you plan to make AS more accessible and open?
My goal is to make not only AS more accessible, but also Senate because these are elected student representatives and students should feel that they can address their elected officials. I plan on making AS more accessible and open by reaching out to first year students and improving the web presence of AS. Since students will be paying into the Association for their entire college career, I will create and put an AS brochure in every single welcome packet so students are aware of all AS resources on their first day at UCSB. Also, I want to collaborate with RHA more by adding an AS section to the Flush. The web presence of AS needs to improve as well by posting contact information, meeting times, and office hours online. In regards to Senate, I want to increase awareness of what, when, and where Senate meetings are happening. To do this, I will put out “Senate Today” signs every Wednesday by the Pardall tunnel and post a welcome sign and agenda on the door of the Flying A room.
Photo Courtesy of AS Elections Committee