MEET THE SENATORIAL TICKETS

Having met at a transfer student orientation, Alexisa Areias and Max Gomez are running for USG Senate to improve the transition process for the transfer student community.

“There are a lot of flaws in terms of integrating transfer students and spring admits into the USC community,” said Areias, a sophomore majoring in political science.

Gomez, a sophomore majoring in political science and communication, said they’re passionate about bringing positive change in the USC community by serving as liaisons between USG and the rest of the student body.

With a campaign slogan of “take care of our place, each other and ourselves,” Areias and Gomez said they intend to build relationships between USG and local nonprofits, extending freshman forgiveness to transfer students and expanding mental health resources on campus.

Cathy Ding said she’s running as a representative for the Panhellenic, Asian American and first-generation student communities.

“I have seen a lot of changes that the school has undergone, but there’s topics that I personally want to get the ball rolling on,” said Ding, a junior majoring in computer science and business administration. “A lot of it has to do with health and overall well-being and drawing light on topics that aren’t as touched on in both of those realms.”

Ding is looking to shine light on health-related topics, whether it be physical or mental, and improve student access to information on resources to seek help.

Ding is involved with Alpha Chi Omega, Trojan Dance Marathon and theater at USC.

While many senatorial candidates are calling for improvements to the free Lyft program, Dario Arganese said his plan focuses on changing the hours of the program to start earlier in accordance with daylight saving.

“There’s always a lot of students on campus that don’t have another mode of transportation besides walking, especially when it gets dark out earlier, so I want to make sure students have that safety in getting around,” said Arganese, a junior majoring in business administration. Arganese said he hopes his background as a transfer student will bring a different perspective to the position.

“The amount of effort, the amount of energy and the camaraderie that I want to bring is what I want people to know about me,” Arganese said.

Gabriel Savage and Ruben Romeo are running on a platform centered on improving mental health and student advocacy.

“Students do not realize how much power they have in terms of their wellness on campus, and we want to change that,” said Romeo, a junior majoring in health promotion and disease prevention.

Savage, a junior majoring in narrative studies and philosophy, politics and law, said he believes his and Romeo’s background and experiences make them an ideal team. Savage is a former USG senator and former director of residential affairs, while Romeo is serving as the community health organizer at the USC Health Promotion Strategy Office.

Savage and Romeo are also campaigning on increasing the number of gender-neutral bathrooms on campus and renaming Von KleinSmid Center.

A newcomer to Undergraduate Student Government, Isabel Washington said her difference in experience is why she’s confident in her ability to represent the underrepresented in student leadership.

“I’m a queer person of color, so I feel I’m able to hear a ton of different voices and different perspectives,” said Washington, a sophomore majoring in health promotion and disease prevention. Washington also said she hopes to rebuild the trust between the USC community and the Department of Public Safety through the implementation of a DPS student review board.

“I want there to be student oversight with DPS ... a group of students that work specifically under DPS that act as a point of contact between the rest of the student body, the community and DPS,” Washington said.

While Jonathan Kamanta and Vadim Trubetskoy represent distinct marginalized communities, the two USG Senate candidates are connected through their mutual passion for public service.

“I think we are uniquely situated students [who are] able to represent the community as a whole,” said Trubetskoy, a sophomore majoring in political science.

Kamanta and Trubetskoy said they hope their presence in the Senate will provide voices for underrepresented communities in USC.

“We feel that the boldness of our ideas and the boldness of our campaign is going to help make USC more inclusive and more encompassing for those students too,” said Kamanta, a freshman majoring in international relations.

According to Trubetskoy, their campaign is focused on increasing representation of minority communities on campus, access to health and wellness resources and women’s health initiatives.

Shreya Chanda and Joshua Wigler are looking to increase diversity and awareness for students and staff at USC.

“I think we really need to play to our strengths and increase the diversity in the community here,” said Wigler, a freshman majoring in law, history and culture.

Chanda and Wigler also said they’re eager to provide easier access to various resources on campus to students.

“We should all have equal access to mental health resources, even physical health resources,” said Chanda, a freshman majoring in biochemistry and global health. “Some of us don’t have equal access to perhaps, sexual health resources and things that we really need to be our best selves on this campus.”

Chanda works with GlobeMed and is a part of Science Outreach and USC’s American Red Cross chapter. Wigler is a part of USC Hillel and Chabad, Trojans for Israel and the Residential Housing Association.

Julian Lin and Trinity Moore’s campaign proposes to increase career services for students and enhance the student body’s relationship with administration.

Moore, who currently serves as an assistant director of the USG discretionary fund, said she aims to focus on professional development.

“While there are so many other important issues on campus, my job could be to focus on more of the professional aspects of students themselves,” said Moore, a sophomore majoring in business administration. “To be able to shed light on that area of being a college student would be really unique.”

Lin, who currently serves as the director of professional affairs in the Marshall Business Student Government, said one of his biggest platform points is to address student housing concerns.

“I want to try to ensure four years of guaranteed housing for students,” Lin said. “I think that using USC as a front to help students expedite this process would really help.”

When students protested USC’s plan to build student housing on the USC Village Great Lawn, Kevin Gutierrez supported their argument for green spaces on campus.

Gutierrez, a sophomore majoring in neuroscience, advocates to create more and protect existing green spaces at USC. He is also proposing to revamp all plants on campus to be fully native Los Angeles species. Gutierrez, a current senate aide, credits his unique platform stance to holding various leadership positions.

“What marks a difference in my campaign is that I have the experience in [Undergraduate Student Government] that other candidates might not have,” Gutierrez said.

For Lennon Wesley III, championing student influence on campus is the way to move USC to greater heights. Wesley said he aims to provide greater support for minority student assemblies and include greater student access to health resources under the University’s insurance.

“We definitely want openness, responsibility, transparency and for every student to live their best USC experience,” said Wesley, a sophomore majoring in business administration and philosophy, politics and law. Wesley, who is currently the president of Nemirovsky and Bohnett Residential College and a USG Senate legislative aide, said his campaign is all about the students.

“We’re in this Trojan family together,” Wesley said. “I feel like as we commit to USC, USC commits to us, and that cycle continues to return.”

Friends since they were 8 years old, Nate Manor and Mayra Rodriguez said they are familiar with working with one another and hope to bring greater diversity in representation to the Senate.

“I’m a spring admit; I’m Jewish; I’m Israeli,” said Manor, a sophomore majoring in political science. “[Rodgriguez is] Latina; she’s first gen; she’s low income. Together, we share an interesting sort of population demographic that I think is somewhat missing in USG.”

Through initiatives such as a first-generation student orientation, Manor and Rodriguez said they intend to foster inclusion of underrepresented groups into the USC community.

“I feel like me running will help those people feel welcomed and heard,” said Rodriguez, a sophomore majoring in civil engineering. “I want to be like a vessel for every student on this campus.”

Manor and Rodriguez said they also want to develop their goals of accessibility and sustainability by making digital student IDs and implementing biodegradable take-out containers in dining halls.