Kaleidoscope sent out a questionnaire to the candidates running for the Undergraduate Student Government Association’s (USGA) vice president of communications, vice president of student services and vice president of finance positions. We are publishing here the responses we have received so that students can get to know the candidates in their own words.
Vice President of Communications Candidates
Vice President of Student Services Candidates
Vice President of Finance Candidate
Vice President of Communications Candidates
Sukhmani Boparai
Sophomore, Neuroscience
Other Involvements:
- TrailBlazers
- USGA (Graphics Design Co-Coordinator)
- UAB Institute for Human Rights Intern
- She’s the First
- Connecting Narratives
Platform:
My platform focuses on the simultaneous internal and external repair of the Division of Communications. The four pillars are Internal and External Communication, Transparency and Accessibility, Bridging the Gap, and Professional Development. Not only is external communication to the student body lacking, but internal communication within the divisions of USGA is almost nonexistent. Thus, I intend to have internal coordinators that are aware of everything happening inside USGA so Comms can anticipate how to alert the study body. I also intend have relaxed, monthly student forums and outreach coordinators that meet/receive feedback from Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) to ensure USGA supports RSOs rather than works over them in a performative manner. In terms of transparency, students must be aware of what USGA is saying on behalf of them. All of MY meeting minutes will be public (I cannot control the actions of other divisions). With transparency, comes accessibility. I will restructure the website to be more than a “2nd Instagram,” that has all meeting minutes, senate reports, etc that I receive. An extensive USGA calendar that is easily accessible for students to add to their own calendars will contain USGA related information such as Senate meetings time/place, RSO form deadlines, Textbook Award deadlines, office hours of EC, and all USGA events. I plan to collaborate with Student Services and the Director of Student Issues to bridge the gaps within USGA. Externally, USGA needs to stop speaking AT the student body instead of speaking WITH them. Students are speaking, but USGA is not listening. Thus, feedback is extremely important to ensure USGA readjusts its focus to the student body when it is lacking. I intend to expand from just the suggestion box on the website with in-person boxes. I will change the manner students can give feedback depending on what they prefer (google doc, suggestion box, in person at a forum). The 4th pillar is extremely important in shifting USGA’s one-sided communication to one that actively listens and advocates. I intend to have biweekly meetings with professional training on diversity/equity/inclusion. I will ensure that the members of Comms put aside their personal beliefs to learn about empathy, privilege, and more to actually UNDERSTAND students rather than passively listening.
Why do you want to be in USGA? I would like to be in USGA to hold the organization accountable and see real advocacy rather than performative activism/ “figurehead” mentality. I want to be in USGA to make sure it redirects its focus on students’ voices rather than on assumptions of students’ voice or even worse, their own agenda. Through this position, I can fix one of the major issues with the organization: lack of transparency/accessibility. I felt many of the same concerns students had this year and felt I did not have much control in my position in Cabinet. Thus, I feel that by running I can help reestablish USGA to be an organization that actually serves the student body rather than works as a separate entity. I want to be a part of USGA, particularly Comms, because I have seen the faults and understand small changes will create a major impact.
What qualifies you for the position? I believe my experience this year in the Division of Communications qualifies me for this position. Firstly, I served as a Graphic Design Co-Coordinator, which requires not only creativity but A LOT of time, which prepares me for time required for VP of Comms. Everything starts with my position because if a graphic is late, everyone else is put behind. Thus, I have learned how being on a team requires true compromise and commitment. I have learned to maneuver a team in terms of helping make sure after I have finished my job, everyone else is able to complete theirs (and providing help when needed). In particular, I have been here for every step as we transitioned into COVID and would love to be here as we transition out. I am aware that Comms did not do enough this year, and part of it is because adjusting into the pandemic presented its challenges (but we have signed up to work through these challenges) but also because of the flaws that are constantly ignored. Thus, I know exactly what to target in Comms if elected. I have also held graphics, Communications positions before such as being the public relations chair/graphic design coordinator in KDSAP. I am also currently a graphic design intern at IHR. Thus, I have held positions regarding outreach and communications before and believe I have a true passion and understanding for the position.
What is the number issue that USGA faces in the upcoming year? The number one issue for USGA is reestablishing the trust with the student body that is has constantly broken. I do not think this could be solved in 1 term, but I do think the responsibility is heavily on whoever is VP of Comms. Because Comms is the bridge between the student body and USGA, it’s goal is reconnecting the bridge and putting in effort to go TO the student body rather than having the student body come to them. If elected, I intend to work on this issue by shifting Comms from a division of one-sided communication to one that redirects the focus of USGA to our voices.
Why should students vote for you? Students should vote for me because I am very passionate about changing USGA and have been transparent from the start. This starts with my platform. My platform does not contain empty promises. I made sure these were tangible, realistic goals that I could not only accomplish within the span of a year but also within the Division of Communications itself. My platform will progress through the year, but this progress is only possible with you. I will make sure Comms is about coming to YOU, connecting with YOU, and serving for YOU. Let’s cross this bridge together and unite to be stronger force that demands change.
Xavier Turner
Junior, Political Science & Criminal Justice
Other Involvements:
- Mr.UAB
- Resident Assistant
- Blazer Male Excellence Network (BMEN)
- Social Justice Advocacy Council (SJAC)
- UAB Ambassadors
- Honors Ambassador, etc.
Platform: I have been a member of USGA for three years at this point, and i have been aware of the common mistakes made within the system. We have followed this dangerous narrative that has set an unfortunate precedent. USGA has formed a social bubble that has led to the ineffectiveness of the organization of as a whole. I plan to increase the level of communication between the student body, executive council, and USGA as a whole. I want to expand the opportunities for students to join USGA to decrease the nepotism claims. I seek to raise awareness around the problems plaguing the student body such as those groups that are not represented such as Black students, Latinx students, transfer students, athletes, DSS, Trio Academic Services, LGBTQ+ community, International student, and so many more. We have to regain the power and represent the student body, but also serve as a resource. We can build our relationship with RSOs, Student Multicultural & Diversity Programs (SMDP) and other student groups by promoting their events and activities. Partnering with these RSOs, Career Center, Academics Advisors, and etc. will allow us to help with student morale and promote activities, organizations, internships, and job opportunities for the whole student body. As I reach out the various sectors of the student body, I will seek to continuously add to the platform because these concerns are really impacting the collegiate experiences of our community.
Why do you want to be in USGA? As mentioned before, I have served many years in USGA. For most members, they tend to leave after one year because they got the experience that they sought out to do. For me, this is not about resume building, but it is the passion that fuels me to serve the student body. I have seen what has caused the dismay and lack of trust between USGA and the greater UAB community, and we need representatives who will actively seek to empower the voices of the people who have been silenced for far too long.
What qualifies you for this position? I have served in various positions around campus. Through these experiences, I have developed an adequate amount of skills that are crucial to the USGA organization as a whole.We need candidates who also have experience in serving the various types of students rather than someone who simply has the “want”. In terms of the Communications division, we need to put more people who have exposure to the marginalized student groups because they are the most at risk in our student body.
What is the number issue that USGA faces in the upcoming year? The problems within USGA are going to be difficult to fix in one year, but we need to start the snowball effect of change. The number one issue for USGA is to bring back the legitimacy of the organization. It has to provide transparency among the appointment process so that we decrease the potential amount of nepotism within the process, establish effective outreach initiatives to the underrepresented student groups, and provide sufficient updates on what we are working on through a consistent basis. Once these steps are followed, then we will bring back the legitimacy of the organization.
Why should students vote for you? My goal is to earn student votes through my level of heart and commitment to bringing light to the issues impacting the at risk populations. Someone has to fight to bring awareness to their voices and stand up for the student body that has felt underrepresented. We need to restore hope to the people who may feel hopeless within our community. A vote for me would help aid to the process of creating the change and solutions needed by our student body.
Vice President of Student Services Candidates
Eunice Choe
Sophomore, Psychology
Other Involvements:
- TA chemistry
- Serve 205 project coordinator
Platform:
- Bring back positive energy around campus
- As a fellow student, I have observed so many students lose motivation and have no sense of school pride this year. It is understandable why so many students are feeling this way but the Student Services’ mission is to bring back the positive energy by creating a sense of pride for our university.
- Focus on the mental health crisis
- Due to the extreme attention of physical health this past year, mental health has been put on the back burner. There needs to be an immediate focus on the student’s mental health. Students already deal with enough emotional stress from academics and personal life. USGA should offer more opportunities to have stress-relieving activities. More awareness surrounding mental health should be advocated.
- The voice of the student body to faculty and administration
- USGA is the direct line between the student body and the administration. All concerns and suggestions will be set forth to make a meaningful change for the university.
- Create an equal environment for every UAB student
- All UAB students should be treated equally regardless of their identity and background. More inclusivity with minorities, disabled, and LGBTQ+. USGA should unite with more diverse groups to create a fair representation within our community.
Why do you want to be in USGA? This year has been a year of reflecting. As a UAB student, I was wondering why do I feel like there is something missing or there should be more. Then I finally realized that no one will do that for me other than myself. If I want to change in my college experience I need to be the one taking those steps to make it happen. Even though it is very scary to do something new and unfamiliar, I want people to know that I am willing to take the first step and advocate for students who feel as though they don’t have a voice. Just this experience of campaigning and having a chance to learn more about USGA has changed my perspective as a student and person.
What qualifies you for this position? Even though my experience with USGA is limited, that does not mean I am any less qualified for this position. This past year I have been a project coordinator for Serve 205. I have learned so many lessons on how to serve my community and push to make things happen. I view myself more as a student who wants to take action instead of a candidate. My perspective of USGA is closer to what a normal UAB student is like instead of a person who has only seen it internally. With my fresh set of eyes, I want to be the real voice of students who feel that they don’t have the power to make a difference.
What is the number issue that USGA faces in the upcoming year? This year has been a very difficult year for everyone due to the pandemic and the expanding issues caused by it. USGA is no exception to the many things that had been affected by it. The upcoming issues for next year are the adjustment back to regular classes and providing the proper support for our students. Besides the adjustment from the pandemic, there are several other issues like creating a better representation within the USGA and allowing under-representation groups to have a voice. There is a clear problem with what the students need and the administration willing to listen. USGA should become more intuitive about its plans to make meaningful change.
Why should students vote for you? Just like how I took a risk running for VP of Student Services, the student body should take a risk in something new. Take a risk in someone who is willing to do anything to help our university succeed and provide for our students. Like mentioned before, USGA has many issues coming up next year. Those problems will not be fixed on their own. It is going to take time, resilience, and hard work. I believe in the students and hope that the students believe in me.
Ritika Samant
Sophomore, Neuroscience
Other Involvements: Active Minds, VP; SJAC, Internal Relations Coordinator; STAIR Birmingham, Volunteer; Connecting Narratives, VP; Tobacco-Free UAB, Volunteer Coordinator
Platform: Rise with Ritika:
- Transparency
- Division Transparency and Feedback
- A big problem within USGA is the lack of transparency and student feedback with ongoing initiatives. SS initiatives will be open and available for student access with mechanisms for feedback. This will be accomplished through extensive joint work with Comms to publicize initiatives and their status i.e. “continuing with success”, “postponed due to logistical difficulties”, “ended by admin dictation”, etc.
- -Publicly Accessible Admin Meeting Minutes
- There is frequent, extensive meeting between executive council and admin that most of the student body is unaware of. ALL of my meeting minutes with ALL admin will be readily available to ALL students (within boundaries: certain information might be redacted depending on what admin allow me to release).
- Division Transparency and Feedback
- Internal Division Changes
- Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Coordinatos(s)
- Coordinator positions regarding the diversity, equity, and inclusion aspect of campus will be created to establish a connection to the SMDP office, and potentially to the DEI Office, such that USGA amplifies, rather than co-opts, the spread of social justice and minority-group related involvement, education, and volunteering opportunities. They will also work on shifting USGA’s climate to one more accessible to Black, Latine, and LGBTQ+ students.
- Student Affairs Based Coordinators
- Coordinator positions will be allotted based on the need for direct lines of communication with certain branches of UAB Student Affairs such as UAB Student Housing, Campus Dining, etc. Decisions for the need for these positions will be based on surveys conducted after the election. These coordinators will pursue initiatives guided by their liaison experience.
- Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Coordinatos(s)
- RSOs
- Supportive Programming For RSOs
- Rather than focus on frequent, non-unique programming of our own, something repetitive and not cost-effective in light of the work that strong RSOs are pursuing on campus, we will work with RSOs to promote their programming. What little programming we do will be supportive and supplemental to amplify RSO efforts and to expand their reach via topical fairs (civic engagement fair, athletics fair, etc)
- RSO Newsletter + Initiative Collaboration
- USGA has a few collaborative efforts between divisions, but the creation of joint initiatives between Student Services, Communications, and Finance for RSO support and funding are necessary. These initiatives will be publicized through a monthly newsletter, published before the next month begins, and will help shift the RSO-USGA relationship to a more supportive, less co-opting one.
- Supportive Programming For RSOs
- Addressing All Issues
- Director of Student Issues
- The Director of Student Issues position will be moved to SS so that student concerns and ideas are heard loud and clear in the division intended to connect them with related campus services. Survey conduction and regular student feedback/engagement activities created by the DoSI will help SS focus on what the students need, thus enabling SS to advocate effectively for the student body.
- Revamping the UAB app with UAB IT
- The UAB app should integrate more campus information to make it a versatile and effective student resource. e.g. one common source of campus frustration that could be addressed through a comprehensible app are the WEPA printers. When they run out of paper, ink, or simply malfunction, students should be able to use an IT tile on the UAB app to report the probIem. I want to address these simple, often overlooked frustrations on campus because these little experiences add up in their effects on student life.
- Director of Student Issues
Why do you want to be in USGA? I want to be in USGA because I want to fix it. After being a part of it for the past two years through Freshmen Forum and through working within the Division of Student Services as a Civic Engagement Coordinator, I have come to see a lot of the shortcomings within this organization. USGA is entrenched with numerous problems such as friendship based nepotistic leadership; a severe lack of transparency, accountability, and advocacy; irregular and insufficient internal regulation and communication; and, even RSO initiative co-opting. While I’d love to fix all of USGA’s problems with one sweep of a platform, I understand that no candidate for any position can do so due to division boundaries that entail that all of Executive Council work to effect this change. That is why I want to work to change the branch of USGA that I have come to know well, which is Student Services. The goal of all my work for this division will be to shift its specialty from programming to student issues and related student services. By doing that, I believe we will truly begin to listen to the student body and in turn amplify their voices to UAB admin.
What qualifies you for this position? I have been a part of USGA for the past two years. The first year was as a freshman in Freshmen Forum, and the second year was this past year where I served within the Division of Student Services as a Civic Engagement Coordinator. It is because I have served in USGA that I fully understand what needs to be changed because I have first hand witnessed the actions that lead to ultimate failure to fully meet the needs of the student body. I have served in other leadership positions for other orgs and RSOs, which means I do have an extensive leadership background. But more than anything, I believe it is my experience within USGA and my passion to see it changed that qualify me for being VP of SS. There won’t be a learning curve for me; I already know what’s wrong, and I want to and have plans to fix it.
What is the number issue that USGA faces in the upcoming year? I think the number one issue that USGA faces in the upcoming year is accountability. I think students in light of the pandemic and the waves of social justice reform calls in the summer of ’20 have created a culture not well-suited to a lack of accountability, something USGA exhibits. Accountability encompasses related transparency and real advocacy for the student body. I think if after this election students do not see a real shift in the climate of USGA, there will be major repercussions that will likely take shape beyond UAB Against Injustice posts. I have no way of predicting what the student body reaction will be like if things don’t change, but I feel fairly sure they will be nothing short of furious if things in USGA are run the way they have been for the last 2-3 years.
Why should students vote for you? Students should vote for me because I genuinely care. This is not some line on my CV to get into professional school. This is not something I’m doing because I have friends in USGA who want to work with me. I’m running for VP of SS because I have a personal wish to see things change within this organization. I don’t want any student to have to experience the difficulties I had in making change happen on this campus and related backlash because of the shortcomings of this organization. More than that, I don’t want students to feel hopeless about having a student government that is apathetic to the needs of the student body. That’s unacceptable, and I won’t stand to see student frustration stem from people not doing the jobs they are paid scholarship money to do. I seriously, from the bottom of my heart, care to see change implemented on this campus. I have hopes that within a year’s time, USGA will be on the right track to being a respectable student-run institution that truly advocates for change on UAB’s campus. I believe it’s possible if students vote on election day. We have a really low voter turnout, so I encourage students to change that by making their voice heard through their votes. Change starts with you, the student body. I can only hope that my platform speaks to people enough to move them to vote for me. It’s a simple platform, but it makes no promises that will be broken. It’s logical, reachable, and effective in turning USGA on the right path by changing the outlook of a division.
