“It was really eye-opening to see how sheltered I was, especially going through DOC at the time [of the Compton Cookout],” Le said. “Marshall has definitely had a huge influence on me, realizing how the world actually is. I know now there is definitely systematic oppression.”

Unlike many of the other candidates for A.S. office, Le was never involved in student government in high school. Though she’s a political science major, her rise in Marshall College Council was a surprising development.

“The decision to run for A.S. President was actually really difficult,” Le said. “There are some people who come in freshmen year with the goal: ‘By the time I’m a senior I’m going to be A.S. President,’ but for me, getting involved in student government was very difficult…the reason I got involved was because I saw a poster.”

Le then applied for a position on Marshall College Council, where the chair at the time ultimately created positions for all the applicants, making Le the student health insurance advisory committee rep. She later took jobs as an orientation leader, campus tour guide and executive assistant to the president of the Graduate Student Association. Currently, she serves as chair of TMC student council.

As part of the more moderately progressive slate of this year’s election, TIDE, Le’s focus is on increasing transparency and visibility of council, while fighting for crucial resources for students such as transportation.  

“I think sometimes we do forget that we’re students,” Le said. “Because we do have a lot of contact with administrators we feel that we’re a slight step above students… and what we do really does matter, but after a year we’re gone. So how we treat the students and how we have this sense of hierarchy doesn’t make sense at all. At the end of the day, when an administrator looks at us, we’re just another student with a title. We’re nothing more than that.”

Le’s top three priorities, should she be elected A.S. President, include working with the other UC schools and moving past the D-I referendum by recognizing our current athletes and improving school spirit. But most importantly, Le wants Chancellor Marye Anne Fox’s successor to know who really has the power.

“Another priority especially is establishing a very strong relationship between A.S. and the students and the new chancellor coming in next year,” Le said. “Because when he or she comes in that first council is going to be the one that sets the tone for however long the chancellor is staying here. So making sure that we have a very distinct and strong relationship, showing them that this is what we want and this is the amount of power students have.”

Fighting words, for a girl who loves Space Mountain.