Repeat runners climbing the ranks of UCSU
On Friday evening, a fresh collection of student leaders will officially be handed the reigns of UCSU by the vote of their peers.
Some individuals seeking election may be holding an office for the first time. However, this new ensemble will also be given balance by a mixture of experienced veterans.
Though none of the candidates that have already served with UCSU in an elected position are running as incumbents to their current position, they will be seeking to continue serving with the student government in a different capacity. This is especially true with the prospective Tri-executives from the Drive and One tickets, each of which boasts two members who have held previous positions in UCSU.
Chance Heath, a junior international affairs major who will be running for Tri-executive on the One ticket, said experience and a basic institutional knowledge of UCSU makes it easier to continue making a difference. Heath has been serving this year as a Representative-at-large on Legislative Council.
“There’s a difference between having an idea, and knowing how to execute it within UCSU,” he said. “For me, not only do I have the experience . I want to take the next step in making changes for the student body.”
Running for Tri-executive with Heath on the One ticket is Piers Blyth, a senior finance major and current chair of the UMC Board, an appointed position. Meanwhile, the Drive ticket includes Legislative Council vice president Dustin Farivar, a junior political science major, and UCSU chief of staff Ryan Biehle, a senior political science major.
Farivar said for students who are continuing to serve in UCSU, they see their re-election as an opportunity to continue serving and giving back to a campus that has given so much to them.
“I think it’s important to see that most students who run for re-election have spent a lot of time working on this campus, on projects they would like to see finished,” Farivar said.
To the contrary of incumbents looking to remain with UCSU, there are also those who have been serving in student government who will be leaving to focus on other things. Obi Onyeali, a junior psychology major and Arts & Sciences senator on Legislative Council, said that serving for two consecutive years as a co-executive for the Arts and Sciences Student Government, working 10 hour weeks in his duties, has worn him out.
Onyeali is also a full-time student, and president of the Black Student Alliance.
“I think it’s time to let the younger generations go ahead and try to improve the campus climate,” he said. “I have other things I want to accomplish as an undergrad.”
The advice that Onyeali said he has for incoming UCSU members is to make sure they prioritize and make sure it is something that they really want to do.
“Make sure you know what you are getting into,” he said. “It’s serious business because we do take care of a lot of serious issues.”
Farivar said he recognizes the time commitment that UCSU entails, and that every student leader is a student first, “here to get a great education from a great university.”
In order to be a student leader in any capacity, Farivar said balance is important.
One of the factors that will ultimately motivate incumbents to stay in UCSU, Farivar said, is the desire to push for progress for students and the campus, in maintaining a top-notch institution.
“I think that UCSU is in the place that it is, as the top student government in the nation because of students who have pushed for progress on this campus, historically,” he said.
Heath said balance can be difficult to attain with school and UCSU being such large time commitments. He said he has attended many meetings that last from 6 p.m. until 3 a.m., on a school night.
For incumbents to want to stick around in UCSU, Heath said they just have to remember why they first got into it.
“You can’t deny, UCSU is a lot of work,” Heath said. “Though it’s tough, it’s a job that has to be done for the students.”
With both Heath and Farivar, they stressed their own motivation as coming from their desire to represent and advance the causes of students. Especially while seeking move from Representative-at-large to Tri-executive, Heath said what makes him want to take it a step further is his belief that things can be done better.
“I think UCSU has been plagued by special interest. I think it’s time that the voice of the average student is heard,” he said.
Farivar said, personally, he has become involved in the things he is passionate about, which he would take with him as a UCSU incumbent moving on to the Tri-executive position.
“I see it as an opportunity to continue service to this campus, and an opportunity to speak for those who have no influence,” he said.
Onyeali said that though he will no longer be serving in an office, he plans to stay interested and supportive of UCSU. He said he hopes each elected leader’s focus, whether they are incumbent or not, will remain on working toward making continuous improvements for campus.
“(They should) preserve the goal and the focus of being the students,” he said.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer George Plaven at george.plaven@colorado.edu.
