Candidate Q&A

2/7/13 6:00pm

SA Election Responses:

PRESIDENT CANDIDATES

Yoonjin Min

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EVP CANDIDATES

1. How will you facilitate communication between students, the SA and external groups?

2. What is your main goal for this term?

Kristina Vu

1. I plan to meet regularly with external groups, where needed, to maintain a link between them and the SA leadership, and I plan to keep the student body updated both through presenting at Senate meetings during the EVP report and by regularly posting the information online on the SA Facebook page, so students can get the info from more than one place. I will also make sure to increase visibility of existing channels of communication between the student body and the SA leadership as well as create new channels of communication, such as an online method of anonymous feedback to be sent out with each SA-related e-mail as well as hosted on the SA website, to improve ease of access to the SA leadership.

2. My main goal for this term is to make the SA more accessible to students and to groups on campus and to increase the student body's trust of the SA. I have heard some students say things like, "The SA doesn't understand colleges' problems," or, "The SA doesn't know students' concerns." I want to help students see that the SA isn't some faceless body separate from the Rice undergraduate community; it's composed of Rice students who want to hear students' concerns and who want to help address students' concerns on campus-wide issues. I want to help kindle more trust between the SA and the student body because the SA is supposed to be made up of every undergraduate at Rice, and every undergraduate at Rice should know that they can bring their concerns to the SA leadership, and the SA leadership will do their best to help the student address them.

Andrea Mansur

1. As EVP I would like to foster more face to face communication by establishing  weekly "office hours" where students, club representatives, and  student organization representatives could come and have a conversation with me about their, concerns, ideas, or just to have a talk about future goals for our university. In this way, I would not only make myself , as an SA officer, more available to the student body but I would also develop stronger relationships with students and student organizations across campus allowing me to better understand their needs and connect them with other groups. In terms of reaching out to the Houston community I would like to continue the relationship we have with our hedgehopper businesses as well as grow our hedgehopper program to include other locations.

2. My main goal would be to continue to engage students in meaningful discussions with each other and administration and continue Rice's proud tradition of valuing student opinion. We are currently facing pressing issues regarding student mental health and alcohol policy and now more than ever we as students need to come together to take personal responsibility for our campus by voicing our opinions in constructive ways. As EVP it will be my top priority to make sure I am well informed on students' opinion across campus by having more student forums and emphasizing my approachability to the student body. 

Ravi Sheth

1. I believe that effective and transparent communication is fundamental to the success of the SA. As EVP, I would work to greatly increase the reach of the organization, proactively gathering student opinions and making the SA and administration more transparent - ultimately so the organization can have more of an impact on student life. I have many ideas for specific new initiatives, including, but not limited to: weekly video series in collaboration with RTV5 featuring interviews with administration (e.g. Dean Hutchinson) and the SA board, revamping the website and social media presences to be more intuitive and act as a  gateway for students to submit input, and holding regular Blanket Tax summits to encourage collaboration and communication between these organizations.

2. My main goal for the term is to increase the impact and visibility of the SA. The highlight of my term would be to implement new, more convenient ways for students to be involved in the organization. I would create a "special external projects" group within the SA, allowing students to lead individual projects in collaboration with leadership and external groups (e.g. create a new website and input system, encourage attendance to athletic events etc.) - this would be less of a time commitment than the current elected positions, allowing many more students to be involved in the SA and develop leadership skills, while also increasing the impact of the organization overall.

IVP CANDIDATES

1. This year, the number of new student representatives increased from three to six. Do you think this has been effective? If so, how? If not, how will you change it?

2. What kind of actions do you hope to see taken by the SA standing committees this year?

Nathan Liu

1. The move from three to six NSRs from each college was definitely a step in the right direction, as it doubled the SA task force, by allowing 3 NSRs from each college to be assigned to Best Practices Projects, and leaving one for each of the standing committees. Not only did this make committee sizes more ideal, but this also aided in the diversity of experience, with representation from all colleges in each committee. Finally, the move helped increase the number of incoming students that are able to obtain leadership experience and perspective on broad campus issues, grooming a rising class of new students that have already taken on more leadership roles at Rice.

However, the main problem with this change involved keeping each NSR accountable. With 66 NSRs, it became hard for the SA executives and senators to keep tabs on their NSRs. After speaking with this year's SA IVP, Best Practices Committee Chairs, and Senators this year, I've found a pretty universal agreement that four NSRs from each college will be a more manageable number.

2. As a past committee chair, I value the working relationships that each committee has made with specific members within the administration. I believe it is important to keep fostering these ties and to reach out to new resources, such as seminar classes like ENST 301 and ENGI 120 for inspiration and cooperation towards solving wide campus issues.

Because the topics of academics, student life, and the environment are broad, each committee has a diversity of students with varying interests and passions. Due to this, I'd like to see committees utilizing these strengths by forming subcommittees devoted to specific projects, so that each member may fully utilize their strengths on the projects they care about.

I'd also like to see more involvement from students strictly outside NSRs roles, specifically reaching out to upperclassmen who may have more experience on their belts. I'm a big believer of role-leadership over positional-leadership, and I'd love to see individuals who are not officially affiliated with the SA join a committee. This will require better marketing of the committees and their regular meeting times.

Min Ji Kim

1. Increasing the number has been effective in giving more opportunities to be involved in SA and of course, increasing the number of people attending the SA meetings. But despite these immediate benefits, I think that the full advantages of the increase have not been utilized. Much more can be done. 

If I am elected SA IVP, first, I will make sure to seek input from the senators, NSRs, best practice leaders, and committee heads on how the NSR program can be enhanced. I am aware that the NSRs have filled out a survey asking for feedback and I will use the responses in thinking of ideas to strengthen the program.

Next, I plan to place a mentoring relationship between the college presidents, senators, and NSRs. As Lovett Senator I worked along with the Lovett President in having a twice monthly roundtable discussion of leadership during dinner. Our main goal was to create a strong relationship amongst all of us and offer mentorship opportunities for the new students. We talked about topics such as networking, and a fun activity that we did was the Strengths Finder Survey.

I have more plans that aim to enhance the NSR Program and that will use the increase of NSRs effectively. I will be determined to achieve those plans.

2. A wonderful thing about SA committees (Academic, Environmental, Student Life) is that any Rice student can join the committees. They do not have to be NSRs. In fact, upperclassmen and new students who aren't NSRs are highly encouraged to join! I hope that SA Committees will greatly advertise that idea.

Additionally, I hope the SA committees will be more visible in showing the progress of their projects and publicizing the success of past projects such as the bike share program and REcharge U.

As SA IVP, I will have a separate date for the Committee NSRs to present their projects like the Best Practice NSRs who had a separate event for their presentations. Having the Committee NSRs present their projects at a SA meeting was not enough time. I will emphasize that even though the two types of NSRs- Committee and Best Practice- have different roles, they are equal in the fact that they are all new students who are leading initiatives and projects for the benefit of Rice students.

TREASURER CANDIDATES

1. How will you address the findings of the blanket tax review committee, and how will you address complaints about the process this year?

Michael Pan

1. I will continue to follow the core guidelines set out by the previous Blanket Tax Review Committee; however, seeing as this is a new process for all of us I am always open to constructive criticism. Honestly, we will hit problems and snags along the way so I will be counting on my committee members and concerned voices of the student body to aid me throughout the process.

SECRETARY CANDIDATES

1. How would you improve upon the job of secretary?

Muhammad Harirah

1. Most of us know what the job of any secretary is - to help everyone keep their stuff organized and to take down minutes at meetings. If elected SA secretary, I would like to evolve that role from just a record keeper to an avid engager. One thing I would like to do as secretary is to get Rice students just like you involved by making campus-wide events more easily accessible and by making what the SA does an attractive place for students to contribute their voice. Through a more concise use of the SA website and more eye-catching mini-minutes, I feel a stronger bridge will be built between a student's voice and its representation

Andrew Ta

1. The secretary position, though crucial to the lines of the communication within the SA and between the SA and you, is currently relegated to motivational and cheer-leading duties. As secretary, I will do more than just your minutes and instead make practical improvements to SA communication. I will create a website where you will be able to see the voting records and viewpoints of your SA officials. I will make club chartering more timely. I will make the campus calender useful and relevant. With "A  T.A.  for SA," you will see a more competent, communicative, and proactive SA. Most importantly, your vote for Andrew Ta will set the stage for a future of actual SA improvement, so be sure to cast it!

Nathan Andrus

1. I have a feeling that many people do not realize the amount of leadership responsibility the secretary has and the potential and freedom the secretary possesses to connect different bodies of people. With my experience from being a senator, along with other positions, I will improve the amount of leadership and cooperation the secretary has with directors, senators, and other SA officers. I will also improve the communication the SA has with the student body, through both existing channels and new, probably more personal means. 

RPC PRESIDENT

1. Why do you think Night Owl Antics is important? What sort of events do you hope to see for this program in the future?

2. Why do you think it's important for RPC to receive an increase of $3 in blanket tax money?

3. What is one thing that you hope to improve on during your time as president?

Catherine Yuh

1. Night Owl Antics has been in discussion and development for years now. Though the idea for the committee originated from the SA, RPC was tasked with implementing the structure and programming needed for its successful launch. Night Owl Antics is, in a sense, one of our most important committees because it addresses an ongoing concern for Rice students' health and safety and meets a campus-wide demand for substance-free programming. Notably, our committee events don't overlap with public parties or other popular campus events, but rather complement them and provide fun alternatives. I think this year's committee has done a phenomenal job setting the stage for future success and growth. Thus far, we have maxed out on venue capacity at nearly every Night Owl Antics event. In the coming years, I hope to see the committee host more off-campus venues and explore additional options for on-campus movie showings (a popular suggestion that came to us from the SA's alcohol culture survey in November).

2. RPC has been struggling financially to meet the increased needs of students and the administration. We added an entirely new committee (Night Owl Antics) this year without an added increase in our blanket tax funding. Traditionally, RPC's blanket tax dollars have funded five committees: Beer Bike, Socials, Traditions, Publicity, and Concerts. (Passport to Houston funding comes from the President's Office, and RPC specifically allocates Beer Bike money into a separate operating budget.) As of this year, our blanket tax is covering six committees. The programming costs we've incurred from Night Owl Antics necessitate that we either cut back on funding for other events or apply repeatedly to the Student Activities President's Programming (SAPP) Fund. Thus far, my Executive Council members and I have applied for SAPP funding four times, and we have come to rely on SAPP funding to accommodate Night Owl Antics' financial needs. If we do not receive an increase of $3 in blanket tax money, we will be in a position to permanently take SAPP funding from other clubs and organizations on campus. The blanket tax increase is essential to guaranteeing the long-term existence of Night Owl Antics. I hope students recognize that RPC has gone above and beyond to fill the need for substance-free programming on campus. The success of Night Owl Antics' gingerbread decorating competition, Sky Zone trip, and free bowling event stand testament to this committee's potential.

3. I'd like to see the growth of our Night Owl Antics and Publicity committees. I think Night Bites has a lot of potential- it's a relatively new event, but students seem to be very receptive to our recent ideas to better publicize and brand RPC events. Night Bites is also a great way for us to show support for Rice's student-run businesses. As of this semester, we're also launching a new graphic design team. I hope that these improvements will help more students know about the events we organize so that they can participate in all of the amazing opportunities on- and off-campus that RPC provides!

Aisha Jeeva

1. NOA is important because it's one of the only programming committees dedicated to providing students with entertaining, substance-free nighttime events on and off-campus. Given that Rice has a diverse student body with differing tastes, it's important that we host events that appeal to all groups of students. As the newest RPC committee, NOA is still developing, and I hope to see it improve in organizing events that truly reflect student interests and provide students with ways to spend time with friends in a relaxing and fun environment, as an alternative to (or even in addition to) alcohol-related events.

2. In order to maintain the quality of many of RPC's successful events and to improve/create future events, it's important that RPC receives this increase. One of the biggest issues this year was that to fund the new NOA committee, the budgets of other committees had to be cut, meaning that certain aspects of long-standing RPC events had to be downscaled. If RPC receives this increase it will be used to directly fund NOA, which will not only allow other committees to receive back their full budget, but will also give NOA the funds necessary to improve future events. Having access to this additional funding will also play a big role in reinstituting Rondelet.

3. My principal goal as president would be to facilitate RPC's responsiveness to the student body, and ensure that the organization truly serves the needs of those it intended to, by improving the college rep program. Instead of Reps simply advertising events, I'd like them to take polls and get student feedback at their colleges for future events. Many students have had long-standing issues with certain annual RPC events (e.g. Crush Party questionnaire, artist selection for Welcome Back Concert, and the absence of Rondelet), and previous RPC administrations have failed to address this. As president this would be my first area of focus and I would work to rectify these issues instead of only directing attention to new events.

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