“Dream it. Own it. See it.” These are the words that motivated our team during the campaign season and will continue to drive the Associated Students to new heights and continued success in this coming year.
As the AS President-elect, I am humbled and honored to serve the UCSD community in this new capacity. For this coming year, my vision is a council untainted by the division of slate politics, a council that is diverse, not divisive, and is an active and thriving council that takes ownership in our positions as student representatives. In my experience with the Associated Students, I have yet to see this potential fully realized and I truly believe that we have the opportunity to restore and renew this association with our shared vision and commitment to bettering our university.
It is time for the Associated Student Council to be reignited as a powerful voice and presence on this campus and with a strong foundation of committed leaders, I am hopeful that this vision can finally become a reality.
My immediate goals as A.S. President revolve around internal reform and ensuring we have a strong base and foundation for an effective and efficient year.
Change must come from the inside out and my plan of action includes just that. I will be working with my executive team to develop standing committees within the Associated Students that will allow for our organization to continually build from year to year, protect institutional memory and allow for the Associated Student Council to continue to thrive and build a legacy of excellence on this campus.
Some of the committees include a Rules Committee and Visibility Committee that will work all year long to improve the most basic functions of our council. Our Rules Committee will work to ensure we are following our own rules and that our rules are updated to ensure that they work for our council and for those we serve.
The Visibility Committee will work all year long to improve our visibility and accessibility as council members through initiatives such as an “Ask AS” table on library walk, working more closely with Triton Television to produce AS video updates and council member office hours. It is my hope and vision for this council to actively engage with students on the issues that affect them directly.
It is my goal to challenge and encourage this new council to be a greater resource and increase our accessibility as student representatives. While I will be asking our council members to challenge themselves in their capacities as student leaders, I also challenge you, as the student, to actively seek the educational and leadership opportunities provided by the Associated Students to become an engaged and active community member. Working together is key here and we cannot do it alone.
The journey ahead of us will not be one without challenges. With decreasing state aid and the threat of further budget cuts, it is even more imperative that the Associated Students continue to battle these detrimental cuts to services and educational opportunities. One way we can do this is ensure that we appoint strong student representation on campus-wide committees that make these decisions and ensure that we are providing the educational resources for students to understand how such issues affect us as students. By providing these educational tools and resources, we hope to empower students to effect change as well.
This is just a glimpse of what I hope to accomplish in this next year, and I hope I have the opportunity to meet and work with as many students as possible. I thank you all again for allowing me the privilege to serve you all in this capacity and I cannot wait for the journey that awaits us. Individually we are great, but together we are unstoppable. Cheers to a great year.
