The other thing though, is that there are students on campus who already have that life. I want to be able to enjoy myself and have access to the things I need. Taking all the amazing work that the people before you have done, why is addressing these goals important to you and the greater student body?įirst and foremost, I would like to have the nicest life on campus that I can. If we're thinking about broad things, those are some campaigns from last year that I know are going to be continued as we go forward. He was one of the most ardent supporters for a $15 an hour minimum wage and one of the founders of the Student Workers Rights Committee. I also have to give credence to one of my opponents for chair, Maxwell Laubenstein. Anjali Subramanian, the Equity and Inclusion Chair, has been doing a lot of work with faculty bias training.
He plans to work on the creation of a Disabled Students Cultural Center. Emmett Lockwood, the newly elected Diverse Engagement Coordinator, is doing a lot of work with disability advocacy on campus. They made sure that if the police department is getting a mental health related call, it's not just police who show up at the door. The last ASM Chair, Adrian Lampron, did a lot of work in expanding the mental health co-responder model for UWPD.
I’ll take this time to highlight a lot of the work that other people have done in ASM that's been really impactful. What are some loose outlines of goals and visions that you have as ASM Chair? In your school-wide candidacy email in late March, you listed out several student centered objectives like continuing to push for a $15 student employee minimum wage, advocating for affordable student housing and increasing funding toward mental health and survivor services. When the 80 is packed, but you have a mobility aid like a walker, how is that supposed to fit? Also, just the convenience of having the 81 run more than Friday and Saturday nights. Specifically, thinking about accessible transportation on campus and accessible sites for students with mobility issues. As a landscape and urban studies major, I want to focus on transportation and community development. They’re both on equal playing fields for me.
What issues are you most excited to make a difference in, or that are closest to your heart? There were things I wanted to see continued, and there are things I wanted to change. I think a lot of the projects I was working on with other folks, ranging anywhere from student workers rights to student representation issues, felt more expansive than what I was doing with the Diversity Engagement Coordinator role. What compelled you to run for ASM Chair in the past spring election? This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity. Fonkem spoke with The Daily Cardinal and discussed her plans to focus on accessible transportation as a means to combat a lack of affordable housing, and continue to create an experience at the university that is equitable for all students.