Meet the senatorial candidates

Aaron Rifkind

I am a third-generation Trojan majoring in international relations. I currently serve as the senior advisor to the USG president on the executive cabinet of USG. I am also the editor in chief for the Southern California International Review, a global undergraduate international studies journal published biannually. As a member of USG for three years, I know the power USG Senate holds over creating legislation that impacts all undergraduates at USC. I want to represent the residential student constituency and work with students to enhance USC as a thriving diverse university.

 

 

1. Expand vegetarian and kosher options at the dining halls and Seeds.
2. Expand dining hall hours and improve weekend hours in the Campus Center.
3. Work with ITS to expand USC Secure Wireless capability.
4. Expand the amount of money student organizations receive per semester from USG.
5. Work with the USG president to implement another break during the fall semester.
6. Decrease facilities expenses for student organizations (Campus Center, Town and Gown, Bovard, etc.) and improve scheduling accessibility and timing.
7. Continue improving Lyon Center equipment and funding.

Alec White

I am a junior studying political science from the Bay Area. I joined USC as a spring admit in January of 2013 and I have felt at home ever since. Since then, I have served as the President of the USC College Democrats and as an E-Board member for QUASA (Queer and Ally Student Assembly). As President of the USC College Democrats, I have worked to increase political awareness across campus. I also have coordinated events such as bringing anti-sexual assault advocate, Sandra Fluke to USC while coordinating with WSA and PSA. At the same time, I value bipartisanship and I have reached across the aisle to coordinate events with the College Republicans. On QUASA’s Eboard, I have increased the welcome back program for spring admits and transfers. Through these positions, I have experience working with diverse groups across campus. I am honored to ask for your vote for Residential Senate for 2015 so we can work for a stronger USC!

 

 

1. Support efforts to improve Wi-Fi speed and connectivity, especially during finals.
2. Support current plans to expand housing opportunities for spring admits and expand the welcome days for Spring Admits.
3. Support the work fighting against sexual assault.
4. Support increasing the number of bike racks around campus, especially near Leavey.
5. Expansion of healthy and affordable food options around the campus center and the campus.
6. Support a speedy implementation of gender neutral housing and expansion of gender neutral bathrooms.
7. Support efforts by ESA and EAO to increase environmental awareness and sustainability around campus.
8. Support upgrades for the Lyon Center.

Dan Li

I was born in Huhehot, Inner Mongol and grew up in Beijing, China. To pursue a world-class education, I came to the Golden State to attend an American high school and take part in a host family program. From a timid boy that barely spoke any English and knew nobody in this country, I graduated from my high school as the most likely to brighten your day by my peers and won Mr. Oaks Christian High School with a comedy routine.  Going to new places and doing things that challenge the status quo is my second nature. I have always wanted to make USC a truly international institution, where any international student here is not just a number, but a person with adequate representation. Unfortunately, international students are underrepresented in student government and many other leadership positions. I want to work with both administration and students to close the representational gap for international students. My passion for improving USC goes beyond international students. I was a delegate on university affairs my freshman year and a senator aide this year. Both USG positions taught me how to work with administrations and other students to achieve our goals. As an RA, I also want to enhance students’ residential experiences by providing more dining options.

 

 

1. Promote USG participation among international students.
2. Ensure that students have a say in the building of the new Village.
3. Bring more food trucks, such as In-N-Out, on campus every Wednesday.
4. Campus resources handbook for commuters, spring admits and transfers.
5. Organize more late-night speaker events, concerts, and social mixers to enhance college experience beyond the classroom.
6. Enhance the Campus Cruiser call system to communicate via text messaging, in order to avoid accent and gender discrimination.
7. Amend the USG bylaws to give senators more flexibility and power to spearhead changes by collaborating with other branches of USG.

Sabrina Enriquez

I am a math major from the Bay Area. I currently serve as a delegate on Diversity Affairs and an Assistant Director of Communication on the Black House project. I am also a part of the Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation and have a passion for social justice. I serve as a corps member for Jumpstart, teaching language and literacy at a nearby preschool, and tutor for the Upward Bound program. Through these various positions and organizations, I have learned to lead effectively and have developed a good work ethic. I look forward to continuing to serve USC and the community in the upcoming years!

 

 

1. Increase late night dining options for students on campus.
2. Promote student involvement and influence through better funding for student organizations.
3. Support community involvement through more frequent service events and involvement fairs.
4. Create more resources to support the transition into USC for Spring admits, international students and transfer students.
5. Expand dining options to include healthier, vegan-friendly food.
6. Create a space for science and engineering students that emulates the academic support and homework help the writing and math centers provide.

Eric Dubbury & Giuseppe Robalino

Dubbury: During my junior year of high school in Seattle, Washington, I discovered a video of the Trojan Marching Band performing their pregame show at the 2005 National Championship. During the time this video played on my computer screen, I got goose bumps. The pride, prestige, and legacy of the University of Southern California shone through. Now I am fortunate to be part of this tradition. I am majoring in music industry and triple minoring in finance, entrepreneurship, and jazz studies. I am also involved in a multitude of campus organizations and clubs. USC and the student body has been here for me every step of the way.  As residential senator, my goal is to be there for you every step of the way. I have put myself into numerous diverse leadership positions over the past 3 years, whether academic, extracurricular, artistic, or professional. My goal is to help you overcome your challenges while at USC, and make this university a place where every single student ascends towards their ambitions. We are a family after all, the Trojan Family. Let us rise together this coming school year. Fight on!

Robalino: I am a junior at the USC Marshall School of Business concentrating in finance. My educational background includes studying politics at Harvard University’s Summer School Program and lately, risk management at the London School of Economics. I have an extensive background in finance, having interned for a private wealth manager and a hedge fund. I am also a contributor for an international investing and financial news site. My leadership roles involve having led a major Orange County political youth group and participating as a repeat guest panelist for the USC Unruh Institute of Politics. Early in my college career, I served as USG Delegate and currently am a member of the USC Student Alumni Society. Eric and I share synergies, so we are running as a team. To this team, I bring my personal pledge to improve the academic environment at USC — reforming the course selection process and further bolstering our educational excellence.

 

 

1. Increase the accessibility and awareness of USG student resources, in part by reinvigorating the use of USG’s website and all its digital media promotions.
2. Visit building governments and clubs to provide updates and get new ideas straight from students. Provide updates via the Daily Trojan and create a Facebook page where our constituents can share concerns.
3. Empower BGs, granting them greater freedom in managing their own money. Forge stronger relations with alumni and the Board of Trustees to bring creative, new programs/activities on campus.
4. Work with administration to find the most cost effective solutions to issues inside USG and campus-wide.
5. Provide incoming freshman classes with more resources and information that will help them acclimate to their new environment.
6. Open avenues in web registration for students to communicate with professors, see course/faculty descriptions, and access 24/7 online site help.
7. Create a one-stop shop where students can see all exam dates, professor grading scales/weights, and professors’ teaching philosophy and methodology.
8. Push to establish a committee of students and administrators to implement changes that span beyond online course evaluations.
9. Work with administration to help continue improving the quality of on-campus dining facilities.
10. Revise some USG codes and documents to express them in more clear and accurate ways.

Sanjay Mahboobani

I am currently a freshman majoring in economics from Redondo Beach California. I am the Birnkrant Vice President, as well as a delegate in USG University Affairs. I am also a member of Phi Delta Theta. In high school, I was the sophomore and junior class president of a class with 600 students. As a senior, I was the student body president at a school with over 2,500 students. I believe that my leadership experience will help me succeed in the role of Greek senator at such a young age. I plan to use my experience to help collaborate with my peers as well has act on certain initiatives to make sure that I leave the Greek Row better than when I found it.

 

 

1. Increase risk management on the row through a student-run outside organization in order to eventually lift some social restrictions that have been placed on the row.
2. Create a stronger “Trojan Family” on The Row by reaching out to alumni to establish scholarship and internship opportunities for Greek students.
3. Improve lighting along The Row and along University Avenue so students feel safe when going home.
4. Improve the fraternity rush process to help prospective fraternity members look at more than two or three houses in order to make an informed decision on the brotherhood that they would like to be a part of.
5. Make the Campus Cruiser/USC Uber cars more prevalent on crowded nights as well as increase the hours and days that the Uber service can run.

Chris Fong

I have been involved with Greek life since my freshman year, and consider joining a fraternity to be one of the best decisions I made in college. I grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, where fraternities and sororities are uncommon, and the notion of Greek life is tainted by its depiction in movies. It was not until I joined a fraternity myself that I discovered the value of a small community within a larger university setting. As treasurer of Phi Psi, I have learned to work with my peers on divisive issues and handle them in a sensitive and respectful way. Getting involved in one’s house is a great way to create lasting friendships and develop professional skills. These overlooked qualities of Greek life are what inspire me to represent the Greek contingent on campus. I want to ensure fraternities and sororities continue to be a constructive experience for USC students. However, houses can only maintain these qualities if students feel safe, comfortable and included in activities. As senator, I will work to create this type of environment so all USC students have the opportunity to enjoy the Greek experience.

 

 

1. Institute organizational amnesty to protect houses under the threat of repercussions due to the wrongdoing of one member.
2. Implement town hall meetings where administrators and students can speak openly amongst each other about contentious issues on The Row.
3. Reduce social restrictions on Fraternities, and increase internal house measures to control social events.
4. Raise awareness on the prevalence and realities of sexual assault.
5. Increase hours for campus libraries.

Darian Nourian

I am a junior at USC, and I’m ecstatic to be running for USG Greek senator. Originally from San Clemente, California, I’m majoring in print and digital journalism with a double minor in business finance and accounting and aspire to one day make the leap into the sports representation industry. Ever since stepping onto USC’s campus two years ago as a spring admit freshman, I have gotten involved in many different facets of the school, including Undergraduate Student Government, serving as the assistant director of Wellness Affairs, where I have worked on projects such as Revamp Lyon.  I am currently the sports editor of the Daily Trojan, where you can read my weekly column, “Persian Persuasion.” Within the Greek community, I sit on the executive board of my fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta, better known as FIJI, and am also the IFC Director of Safety and Risk Management. You can also catch me on Trojan’s Vision’s weekly sports talk show, The Water Cooler. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work with the USC community and the rest of the Trojan family in order to take this university to new heights!

 

 

1. Eliminate the disconnect between the Greek community and other student groups on campus.
2. Redefine the culture and perception of recreation and fitness by creating an all-inclusive space for students of diverse backgrounds.
3. Ensure a more positive perception for Greeks by improving public relations and enhancing transparency.
4. Work with Greek community and administrators to create flexibility in social policy by implementing risk management protocol.
5. Boost overall wellness by increasing healthy food options and improving Row Wi-Fi.

 

Cassie Aguayo

My name is Cassie Aguayo and I commute to USC from Long Beach, California. Last semester was my first semester here at USC after transferring from Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. Recently, I switched my major to international relations, and I am now working towards declaring a minor in business entrepreneurship. Before I started my college education, I was a tutor for elementary school kids in math and language arts. Now, I help out with my father’s small family business with my siblings doing secretarial work. Working alongside my tight-knit family has taught me the vitality of cooperation and teamwork, which I feel I can put into use as a part of the Undergraduate Student Government. Being a commuter, I strive to make my time on campus valuable, which is why I am especially passionate about taking on the responsibilities being a commuter senator would entail. Although I am often immersed in my schoolwork during the semester, I enjoy leisurely reading, hiking and spending time with close family and friends. I also like to hangout at local coffee shops and concerts in the greater Los Angeles area.

 

 

1. Improvements to the amount of parking.
2. Campus lounge open to all students and commuters complete with appliances to heat up/store their lunch, TVs, and lockers to store personal belongings.
3. Increase in bike racks.

Bulk Lao

I was born in a Christian refugee camp in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. My parents were refugees from the Vietnam War, and we started in the United States with nothing. My family didn’t know what success was, and we struggled for a long time. I finally found myself here at USC, where many windows of opportunities are available to me. I am a rare spring admit. I was encouraged and supported by many wonderful administrators and faculty at my former junior college, East Los Angeles College. I wanted to do more for the entire campus so I moved on to student government and became a part of the Associated Student Union Family. I served as the vice president of finance where I revived the Lunar New Year Festival running alongside our Covered California Sign-up Campaign. The event provided the community with joy, happiness and good health. Students enjoyed the lion dance show and got started in the process of being medically covered. As of today, I am pursuing an undergraduate degree in business administration with a focus in accounting and management in the Marshall School of Business. I am currently working as a program assistant for ELAC Outreach, as well as a teacher’s assistant for the Joint Educational Project linking students with information and resources in their pursuit of student success. I am so grateful for all the opportunities that have been provided to me, and I want to pay it forward as your next commuter senator. I know that by working together and pooling our community resources together there is nothing that we cannot achieve together. We should feel empowered and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for all of us.

 

 

1. To utilize USG to fund events that create long lasting enjoyable memorable experiences.
2. To enhance students’ learning by enabling them to practice skills and test classroom knowledge through related service experiences and activities in the local community.
3. To recruit and assist faculty who are willing to include a service option their courses.
4. To assist service learners to make connections between their community experiences and the larger world, focusing especially on social justice issues.
5. To provide student staff with diverse and rich employment and leadership experiences.

Jacob Ellenhorn

Born and raised in Beverly Hills, CaIifornia, it has always been a dream of mine to attend USC. I have always believed strongly in getting involved and getting my hands dirty. When I came here I became very strongly involved in on-campus activities, especially with the College Republicans. I feel that too many candidates come to USG with the hopes of “changing the campus.” I am not running to change the campus, but to give a voice to my fellow commuters and conservative minded students. I feel that there needs to be someone on the body that will stand for common sense principles. As a senator, I will reject any and all proposed fee hikes. I believe that USG has been able to prosper on smaller budgets, and I believe it should. Resolutions to award $2,500 to groups for bike powered performance stages, and resolutions to fund giant inflatable vaginas are simply wasteful and unnecessary. As a senator, I will stand against such wasteful and extravagant budget allocations. Furthermore, I will promise to vote against any and all bills that attempt to boycott, divest from or put sanctions on the Jewish state of Israel. I believe that our student government has no business taking a stand against democratic countries, and I will not tolerate any attempt to do so. As commuter senator, I also hope to improve parking on campus. I believe that if you pay for a parking spot in a certain lot you should be guaranteed that spot in that lot, no matter what. I find it particularly unfair when USC hosts special events on campus and entire parking lots become full. Students who park in these lots are never notified about these events and are then forced to drive aimlessly around campus to find a spot in another lot. Parking spots, if paid for, should be guaranteed. If there was one thing I would change about USC, it would be to make the university a friendlier place for diversity of thought. As a campus, we place importance on diversity of race, but I think that it is equally important to think about diversity of thought. All too often I feel that students who think differently than their professors are too scared to speak up for what they believe in. Efforts to impose comfortable speech on campus only restrict the speech of other students with different opinions.

 

 

1. No boycotts on, divestment from, or sanctions on Israel.
2. No fee hikes.
3. No unnecessary or extravagant expenditures on things like bicycle powered stages or giant inflatable vaginas.
4. If you pay for a spot in a certain lot, that spot in that lot must be guaranteed during school hours.