Protecting those tasked with advocating for the student body and aspirations of one day becoming a lawyer is on the mind of at least one candidate running for the presidential seat of USC Student Government: Heydy Vasquez.
This week, students have the opportunity to vote for the president and vice president of USC Student Government (USG) and over 10 senatorial candidates. Candidates for the presidential and vice presidential positions include John Breitfelder and Guinevere (Gwen) O’Beacain, Ali Bhatti and Chichi Makasi, Heydy Vasquez and Elija Barnes, and Mikaela Bautista and Emma Fallon.
Breitfelder and O’Beacain are running on increasing accessibility to food on campus, supporting groups on campus, like the Daily Trojan, and creating a USC marketplace, according to their platform’s Google Document.
Bhatti and Makasi are running on incorporating student feedback, like removing fencing around Alumni Park, bettering USG’s efficiency as a whole and implementing resources for the student body such as destigmatizing mental health services that already exist, which can be found on their platform’s Google Document.
Vasquez and Barnes are running on improving RSO support, sustainability, and improving representation throughout campus by working with the Chief Diversity and Programming Officers, according to their platform’s Google Document. Both Vasquez and Barnes are Latine, Vasquez is Mexican-American and Barnes is Black and Puerto Rican.
Bautista and Fallon are running on expanding the USC shuttle line, extending hours at Doheny Library, and hosting a welcome dinner for transfer students both semesters, which can be found on their platform’s Google Document.
Senatorial candidates include Jeremiah Boisrond, Mason Yonover, Sydney White, Moy Valdez, Christian Cook, Jad Kilani and Zehran Muqtadir, Sudeepta Murthy, Justin Shih & Karim Debian, Kevin Hoang, Dakota Driemeyer, Andrew Cardenas, and Kian Salek and Sabeeh Mirza. Three of them identify as Latine: Valdez, Cardenas and Boisrond.
Dímelo Radio had the opportunity to speak to USG Presidential Candidate Heydy Vasquez, the only Latine running for the presidential seat, about her platform.
What inspired you to run for Undergraduate Student Government? Was there a specific moment or experience that made you decide to step up and campaign?
So I mean, I’ve been in USG for three years. I started off as a freshman in the affordability and basic needs, and then I became an AL [Advocacy Liaison] and then now as a senator sitting on the external affairs. So I’ve been well rounded when it comes to the organization.
And I just saw that, you know, like, there’s so much things that we can do within USG, there’s so much things that we can do to benefit the student body, whether that means like, you know, executing projects or just administrative, like, roles and like, the way that we manage things. And I just, like me and Elija, just have, like, the same vision for the organization. So we were just like, let’s run.
How has it been working with Elija Barnes, your vice president? What qualities do you see in him that made you know he was a good running mate?
It’s been amazing working with Elija. He is such an amazing person, and just really so great to work with. Elija currently is a Speaker of the Senate, so, I mean, he has been working, like, to make sure that the Senate is working, you know, collaboratively. And just like the Senate is, like, you know, running smoothly. We had some troubles the past semester, you know, with Senate projects and, you know, just making sure that the Senate understands their role, because it’s a very tricky role.
So Elija has been great in managing the senators and me as well, because I’m a senator, he is somebody who wants to make sure that the chairs and everybody in the ledge branch is working collaboratively. So I see so many great qualities in him, and I’m, I mean, I’m hoping for the best when it comes to this election, because he’s going to do such a great job in that role.
USC is a large and diverse community. What are the main issues you feel need more attention, and how do you plan on addressing them if you’re elected?
I mean, there’s so many things that are going on on campus, outside campus, and so many things that are affecting our students, and it’s really like–one thing that I’ve seen is the disconnect within administration and students. A lot of times, you know, we hear statements going out that are, you know, addressing what’s going on on campus, or the way that administration wants to work around student needs and student demands and it tends to be very broad, and that drives students into, like, kind of a panic mode, because they’re unsure what this means, and they don’t really get clarity. And that’s a very big issue that I see, because if administration isn’t being truly transparent with our students, then you know you’re gonna have students who are fearful, who don’t really know what to do next.
And the way that I see me like addressing that issue is the President sits on the board of trustees and the Alumni Association different committees with administrators, and really communicating that, those concerns to administration is something that I see in translating that back to students, also just talking to different councils of our–of students, RSOs, Greek life and other like student groups, and seeing what are their issues that they are facing, and how can I translate that back to our administrators to see how we can support them best.
On that note, do you, how do you plan on amplifying voices of underrepresented communities, especially, you know, the Latinx community?
Yes, so I’m Latina myself, and Elija is also Latino, he’s Puerto Rican, and he’s also Black. So we have different lived experiences that are crucial for advocating for our students, and the way that we see that is truly in protecting our advocacy liaisons and making sure that they feel comfortable advocating for the community.
You have future plans to pursue law school. How do you see this leadership position aiding and accomplishing your goals?
Yes. So, I mean, I aspire to be a lawyer and then hopefully a judge, one day, I would be communicating with high administration. So like the incoming interim president, the board just sees the Alumni Association. So that’s also learning experience how to communicate effectively with leaders and create change. Because, you know, being a lawyer, and in the legal field, it’s all about change, and it’s how we do it.
You can also listen to this conversation in our upcoming episode of Dímelo Radio, and find all the platforms and information of all candidates running here. USC Student Government (USG) voting season began this week on Tuesday and will conclude on Friday, Feb. 21. According to USG’s website, you can expect to hear preliminary election results announced on Feb. 25.
Editor’s Note: Vasquez is a former Dímelo contributor.