MEET THE SENATORIAL TICKETS

Arie Abija and Ruben Romeo are running on a platform centered around the international student community, global issues and action-based change.

“Not every international student has the same background,” said Romeo, a senior majoring in health promotion and disease prevention who is also the speaker of the senate. “You can’t assume anyone’s story ... so getting to be friends with and learning [from] international students’ stories ... has shown us the grievances that they’ve had to fight alone.”

When asked about what made her passionate about community organization, Abija, a junior majoring in theatre with an emphasis on acting, explained that she wanted to see “what aligned with [her] backbone as a person.” Through the arts, she said she’d been able to be involved with the community and people, but with USG, she could further that mission.

They’ve both educated themselves on global current events and have been working to support Armenian students during the ongoing violence and oppression Armenia was facing from Azerbaijan and to write statements denouncing SARS in Nigeria. Abija, who serves as the aide to the speaker of the senate, emphasizes the importance of making USG accessible to all students and further integrating into all communities present on campus.

“At the end of the day, student government is supposed to serve the students,” Abija said.

Brian Stowe aims to increase transparency, improve mental health services and establish a more diverse student assembly.

Stowe, a junior majoring in industrial and systems engineering, emphasizes teamwork and clear communication to create policies that can be passed.

Stowe, who is a cadet in USC’s Air Force ROTC program, believes he has the leadership experience to rebuild a student government that represents all students.

“I’m not in this for personal gain,” Stowe said. “That separates me from everyone, by tenfold or more, because I’m not doing this to put something on my resume.” Stowe said he plans on tackling difficult topics head on.

“We have issues of injustice, we have issues of insensitivity and a lot of these aren’t nice issues,” Stowe said. “You’re not going to be able to attack these issues by being nice or sugar coating things. I guarantee you that I’m the most straightforward person on this ticket. I do not say anything in a way that’s going to make it seem different than it is.”

Kevin Gutierrez and Tommy Nguyen were each other’s first friends at USC. They are running together on a platform of advocacy for Black and Indigenous students and students of color, as well as mental health awareness.

An important aspect of their agenda is critically examining the relationship the Department of Public Safety has with the community and students of color.

“If that means divesting from the DPS ... then that will be our action,” said Nguyen, a junior majoring in history.

Nyguen said that his and Gutierrez’s experiences as orientation advisors gave them the opportunity to know what works at USC and what doesn’t. In addition, Gutierrez is a seasoned Undergraduate Student Government member serving in the past as a Senate aide and more recently as a senator. Maintaining student mental health is another top concern for the pair.

“With the stress of college and life magnified with [the coronavirus] and online learning,” Nguyen said. “Our priority lies in the wellbeing of our students against discrimination and mental illness.”

Devin Ayala is running for Undergraduate Student Government Senate on the basis of collaboration.

“I wanted to really get a grasp of what clubs and organizations want on campus,” said Ayala, a freshman majoring in environmental science and health “One of the biggest platform points is bridging the gap between clubs and organizations and USG.”

He said he intends to rebuild the foundation of the USC community. Unafraid to address the disconnect between the student body and USG, Ayala insists that to effectively advocate for the changes students demand, such as increased funding towards mental health initiatives and further discussion regarding the controversial tuition spike. USG must first re-establish communication and trust with students. Ayala said he plans to do this through collaboration, by establishing designated groups within USG which would be in contact with clubs and organizations on campus.

Other pillars of Ayala’s platform include mental health advocacy on campus and focusing on community outreach in the Los Angeles area. Ayala hopes to combat the low-income barrier by equipping more first generation students to apply to colleges of their choosing. He said the first step, however, will be to rebuild the campus community and ensure USG’s attention to students’ needs.

With a campaign rooted in the efforts and diverse perspectives of their team, Matthew Ayala and Hana Li want to meaningfully address long-held concerns of equity on campus and create more transparency between the Undergraduate Student Government and USC’s student body.

“I think that something that Hana and I believe in is ’diversity’ and ‘inclusion’ should be more than just buzzwords,” said Ayala, a junior majoring in political science. “We want to make sure that we’re focusing on accountability and transparency within the recognized student organization community.”

With their experiences in different organizations across campus and mutual determination to address deep rooted issues at USC, Ayala and Li said they are looking to advocate for all student groups and expand cultural centres on campus.

“We want to bring the decision making back to the student body and make sure that students are comfortable approaching us with concerns that they do have,” said Li, a sophomore majoring in business administration who currently serves as a USG Senate aide. “We actually encourage them to challenge us if our platform isn’t what it should be.”

As a first-generation student, Diego Andrades understands the importance of self-advocacy and hopes to use his voice to benefit the entire USC student body. For this reason, Andrades, a sophomore majoring in politics, philosophy and law and political science, has structured his platform around the theme: making a healthier and more equitable USC.

“Inequities in terms of wealth, I think, is a really big problem ... There’s a very large wealth gap between the bottom and top of USC,” Andrades said.

Diego directly serves as an elected Undergraduate Student Government Senate aide. His platform is also influenced by what he has learned as a current diversity, equity and inclusion officer in the Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity.

He said he believes that students should have more say in the University’s crucial decisions. Among several platform points, Andrades is strongly advocating for more sources provided to transfer and undocumented students.

Currently, only 20-30% of the USC student body votes for their USC USG. Andrades emphasized the importance of voting to see changes within USG.

“We need to make sure that the USC student body is aware of what’s going on in USC and has that transparency,” Andrades said. “And they would want to vote when they have the ability to see what’s going on.”

Henry Parker-Elder and Nick Yang are committed to promoting mental health and wellness as USC students remain isolated.

The freshmen’s leadership experience began in high school, where they met in class. Parker-Elder, a theatre major, served as his high school’s senior class president. Yang, who’s majoring in business, served in USC’s Undergraduate Student Government as a Senate aide.

They developed concern for their classmates’ after conducting mental health check-ins during Zoom courses.

“I would try to ask in every breakout room, ‘ How are you feeling? ’” Parker-Elder said. “A lot of the responses I got from freshmen were that they weren’t feeling great.”

heir most prominent mental health initiative is the distribution of what they are calling a COVID care package, which consists of blue light glasses, infographics on redlight filters and USC dining recipes.

Yang shared, however, that their greatest priority is enacting mandatory Diversity, Equity and Inclusion workshops to “combat racism on campus.”

Yang and Parker-Elder believe “lack of trust” with the public is USG’s largest issue. Yang alluded to USG-related posts on the @black_at_usc Instagram page while describing his concerns with the organization. Both students agree initiatives towards inclusion are something they will promote no matter the outcome of their election.

Hunter Hinson, who is a Pell Grant recipient, plans to reduce financial barriers for students at USC if elected to the Undergraduate Student Government Senate. Among Hinson’s specific policy plans are textbook aid support, expanding the Trojan Food Pantry and creating a history fund so students can research and confront USC’s past, particularly its role as a predominantly white institution.

Hinson, a sophomore majoring in political science and communication, currently serves as the executive aide to USG’s chief of staff. He believes this experience equips him to make his ideas a reality.

“Having that knowledge of what it actually takes for USG to implement reform or pressure the administration to make the changes that students want, I think would be super helpful as a senator,” Hinson said. “Then, if I want to implement different reforms ... I know what those conversations already have looked like in the past.”

Hinson also said he hopes to implement internal reforms to USG to combat toxicity and re-establish trust between USG and the USC student body.

“[Students] think [USG is] not really necessary, or they think it doesn’t really represent them,” Hinson said. “Or it’s just something that makes scandals, which definitely shouldn’t be the case. It should be something that students really like, and they feel as if it’s something that’s helpful.”

Russell Agustin and Nivea Krishnan, two senatorial candidates majoring in public policy, have a lot more in common than just their major. Both freshmen realized their visions for a better USC aligned.

“We found that we had a lot of things in common ... the biggest thing is our belief in student agency,” said Agustin, who currently serves as an executive aide to the Undergraduate Student Government president. “Ultimately, that’s how we make change, we get people involved and we don’t exclude anyone.”

Agustin and Krishnan believe they can enact real change with “ACT,” their platform’s motto that stands for Accountability, Community and Turnout.

“My main priority with USG is making sure that every Trojan feels like they have a voice, and that voice is actually amplified and acknowledged by administration,” said Krishnan, who sits on USG’s Affordability and Basic Needs committee. “I think that is the biggest thing lacking right now.”

Agustin and Krishnan will reform campus by encouraging students to speak out, but also by eliminating problematic memorializations of known eugenicists and creating transparency.

“We think that all USC students should be aware and keep tabs on what’s going around in their community, so they can support it,” said Krishnan.