ASUCR Presidential Debate kicks off with four cabinets

In the midst of campaign season, contenders for various positions at Associated Students of the University of California, Riverside (ASUCR) came together at HUB 269 for the first set of Presidential Debates. Featuring candidates running for the Vice President of External Affairs (VPEA), Vice President of Marketing & Promotions (VPMA), Vice President of Finance (VPF) and President positions, the debate covered general platform goals and position-centric actions.

Vice President of External Affairs

Vivian Herrera

“[Advocacy] for me, it means being driven by your passion, being there to help un[der]represented students. As a person from an underrepresented background, I feel like a lot of the time, we’re overlooked. Our issues are overlooked ” – Current Civic Engagement Director Vivian Herrera shared one of her reasons for getting involved with advocacy, and what advocacy means to her. “One [goal that we want to work on] is just making UCR more affordable and accessible.” In the past year, the External Affairs Cabinet has been backing Cal Grant reform and equity. With restrictions as to how many students are able to access the Cal Grant, a goal for Herrera is to “expand that margin” and make it so that “those that don’t receive Cal Grant have accessibility to that.” Other goals include establishing educational programs on civil literacy and grant scholarships for student participation.

Vice President of Marketing & Promotions

Ashley Estrella

“In order to preserve the integrity of our student government, these values [of student engagement and student knowledge] must be at the forefront of our marketing department to establish trust and active communication,” claimed Ashley Estrella, citing responsibilities of the VPMA. Touting previous experience as the Executive Assistant of the Civic Engagement Committee, Estrella claimed to have learned how “to utilize both in-person and online marketing strategies to form an accessible bridge of communication between the students and campus.” She broke down the core components of marketing to “easy access to information and resources, community outreach and recruitment, and dedication to an innovative mindset.” Estrella assures that she will take “the initiative to go in person and market to classes” in order to “inform students of current activities or future activities that will take place.”

Ian Tjan

“I believe that the position has a lot of great potential of becoming something greater than it is right now” began Ian Tjan as he delivered his introduction. He outlined a vision he held for the position in which the VPMA would not only market ASUCR material, but also existed as a “communicator of these institutions on campus.” Tjan claimed that one of the reasons people do not really understand the purpose of ASUCR is because “there’s not a lot of outlets on where people can see what ASUCR does, either on the website or anything else.” Because of this, Tjan created “a live streaming service called R’Span,” which makes meetings more accessible by recording “different events that ASUCR was hosting.” Tjan painted himself as someone who “jumps into the fray at the very beginning,” holding accomplishments such as opening up a store in Lothian and taking on other initiatives.

Justin Tam

“My goal is simple. To ensure that all UCR students know about the resources available through ASUCR.” Justin Tam established at the forefront of his introduction. He pointed out examples of students not knowing how to access ASUCR resources such as funding, being unfamiliar with the requisition process, or lack of knowledge of the $10 student fee that goes directly to ASUCR. “That’s why I’m committed to improving transparency between ASUCR and the student body.” In order to facilitate transparency, Tam promises to “collaborate with campus facilities to secure physical spaces for bulletins and posters,” and beyond physical presence, to do more than just table and host workshops to “foster a more active and informed campus community.” Over the past years, Tam acted as the Marketing Specialist for the Judicial Branch and interned under a former VPMA.

Vice President of Finance

Cooper Kumar

“My main goal of my campaign is to financially empower our student body,” established current Director of Campus Partnerships, Cooper Kumar, early into his reasoning on what he wanted to achieve as VPF. He explained how he wanted to work directly with student organizations to “provide tailored financial support” and provide “practical financial workshops that equip students directly with practical skills.” Kumar established two key areas he wanted to focus on, “working directly with student organization leaders in their funding processes,” as well as “implementing practical financial literacy workshops,” in order to ensure that funds are allocated to the most urgent and impactful decisions. Kumar ended his segment by stating that the Office of Finance needs to be flexible when working with these student organizations, and that “we can transform UCR into a place where students are equipped for lifelong financial success.”

Kaden Ho

“My goal as Vice President of Finance is to make sure that all clubs are properly educated on the money that we allocate … [and] streamline that process so that all clubs can get the financial support that they need.” Characterizing himself as a “current, active member of the Finance Committee,” Current CNAS Senator Kaden Ho explained that only “about 10% of [organization funding] was actually utilized by [clubs and organizations] for their own events and activities.” He promises to maintain transparency of money allocated and make sure that these organizations “take advantage of the resources that they have.” Ho emphasized his confidence in making organizational funding more “accessible” to students and that “together we can build a vibrant campus community.”

Philson Ho

“I plan on improving [ASUCR Finance] functions by increasing awareness for your club and fundraisers through collaborative efforts” began current CHASS Senator Philson Ho. Ho  outlined his financial experience, stating he co-authored legislation “to boost funding for student-parents” and “also introduced meal swipes at the Barn.” As another current, active member of the Finance Committee, Ho explained that he noticed “a lack of transparency between the finance committee and the rest of ASUCR.” This he detailed, was due to a high number of abstentions, which he felt could be resolved if committee meetings were made publicly available. Ho promised that as the next VPF, he would “be able to solve these issues.”

President

Abby Choy

“I aim to foster ASUCR into a place where students can see their voices are heard and see what action is done on pressing issues,” illustrated Abby Choy, current President Pro Tempore. Her main goal is “to build a multi-year foundation for where all ASUCR residents can continue their projects” by “building strong campus department relationships” and maintain “long-term funding for these projects to move beyond their pilot stages and into the hands of students.” Choy believes that the most pressing issue students face right now is food insecurity, citing a survey from Basic Needs which claimed that 66% of students suffer from some sort of food insecurity. Establishing term goals, Choy promised to put funding into programs like the food recovery program, to let students take leftover food from the dining hall, and would continue fighting for the R’Garden Referendum, which would provide support to the R’Garden, which provides free farm-fresh produce to students. Reinforcing her role as a supporter and spear-header of initiatives, Choy’s primary goal is to “create a foundation” to support the goals of others in the organization. One part of the foundation is establishing committee quarterly reports, as there are over 40 existing committees, so that Choy can track their progress and ensure “that they are being efficient [and] they are actually doing what they are planning on doing,” and outlining timelines for projects and naming successors to carry on the work.

Adam Ramirez

“We as students pay a lot of money in tuition, we give our blood, sweat and tears to this place. We are trying to earn our degree. We as students deserve to have our needs met.” Adam Ramirez declared that he would make sure that student needs are met and that the quality of education does not decrease. As the California budget prediction overshot their forecast by 23%, Ramirez believes that the biggest issue that UCR will face is the budget deficit. He vowed to make sure that student voices are heard in topics such as rising tuition and address the deficit. In the past year, Ramirez has acted as Chief of Staff to the Office of the President. He claimed that his main ideology is to “listen to students” and that as President, he will be able to oversee the Executive Cabinet and hold the staff accountable. Recently, to maintain accountability, Ramirez pointed to a new legislation that established measures of accountability in the First-Year Fellows Program, which he oversees. “[Students] are the ones that we will listen to, and this idea of accountability extends all the way down to there.”

Teesha Sreeram

“As president, I’ll foster open communication with administration to uplift our student concerns, enhance commuter student experiences, and ensure comprehensive safety and well-being for all.” Current CHASS and SOB Senator Teesha Sreeram emphasized open communication and advocating for diverse student needs at the opening of the debate. Bringing up examples of lack of student engagement at Senate meetings, Sreeram believes the main issue that the office will face is student engagement. She wants to hold ECAB and the rest of ASUCR accountable, and that as President, she would “empower every single UCR student to do what they want, and have the space and opportunity to voice their concerns.” Sreeram promised to “advocate for UCR” both within campus and at the UC level. “Oftentimes [higher officials] want to silence our voices, but we are very powerful.” Sreeram established that she is “committed” to holding other members of her office and herself accountable, and that with her experience, she will work to create “tangible steps” for initiatives by “planting seeds to open lines of communication.”

Brandon Huang

“The main focus of my campaign is that I want to make sure that all students feel safe on campus.” Current VPF Brandon Huang explained his primary goal for his campaign, prioritizing student safety. He pointed to past experience he held in the area, stating he had “addressed student homelessness, food insecurities and LGBTQIA+ bias training” through initiatives he had taken on. Huang had shown up late to the debate due to having an overlapping class.

To watch the debate, check out our recording on YouTube or click our link in bio!