City on a Hill Press is dedicated to informing students about the spring campus elections and as a part of this effort, we are profiling the candidates for the Student Union Assembly officer positions. Voting started Wednesday, May 13th and continues through this Wednesday, May 20th. Vote online at http://www.elections.ucsc.edu.

Second-year Tiffany Loftin is the current SUA Internal Vice Chair running unopposed for re-election. As the Internal Vice Chair, Loftin is responsible for all the internal operations for SUA and also is the chair for Student Committee on Committees (SCOC).

Loftin, an Oakes Neighborhood Adviser (NA), grew up in North Hollywood, California and has been involved in student government since middle school. At her high school, she held her first elected position as vice-president of student government and also served as the president of the Black Student Union.

During her first year at UC Santa Cruz, Loftin became an intern for SUA and was convinced by friends to run for the position that she currently holds. Last year, she ran as a part of Student’s First, a political slate on campus.

CHP: What have you changed since you were first election as SUA Internal Vice Chair?

I definitely have brought a light to SUA as far as out reaching and students on campus because not many people are aware of what SUA is. I definitely stepped up to the plate as far as helping students on campus understand what SUA is and how they can use it. I brought school spirit to the campus with Slug Day.

CHP: What do you think about increasing wages for SUA officers?

I am for it, not because I am running again. One, this job I make about $2 an hour because I work 30 hours plus a week.

I can speak for myself and the officers. We are not asking for a raise that is not what it’s about. The question within the body is not like “oh we do not deserve it.” Like everybody knows we deserve it, it’s just like its not the right time because it’s a recession.

If you do not increase these stipends, only students that can afford to come to college can take these leadership positions.

It’s definitely time consuming taking this job. I cannot get a part time job, I am not allowed to. Because it takes so much time, it would definitely show on my work if I got two jobs. I have two jobs now—I am an NA, but they overlap but I can not get job that is 9-5pm or something like that and work in another space because I am always on call for this position.

CHP: How do you feel about the campus ballot measures?

The [SUA] officers and students are never in favor of increasing student fees because they already went up 9.5 percent this week. I am never in favor of our fees going up to support something. There are other resources on campus that we should be looking for to pay for things, so we could substitute it.

I strongly support those who take leadership positions in keeping their organizations going, [such as] OPERS. I know they came to get money and we were in support of it and we wanted to make sure that the money that they get was actually going to what they are advocating for.

CHP: What about supporting the “green” ballot measures such as Measure 38, 39 and 41?

I am in support of going green. Santa Cruz has a very unique, unique identity as far as like us being a green campus. When we go to conferences, every other school knows that we are a green campus.

It is really interesting to see us react to people throwing their trash away, people eating certain things and not finishing their food and people using too much electricity when it’s an important time to not.

I am in support of UCSC going green because that’s our identity, what we hold on to, what we are passionate about and what we are good at. But I do not know about student fees going up especially in a time like this.

CHP: What do you think about the community studies major being cut?

I went to go hang out for one of the strikes that they had. But I’m not the type of person that will go out and strike all of the time. I am more of a “let’s sit down and talk about, why you are not listening to what I am saying and why this is not going the way it needs to go,” but in the same context.

I am supportive of the students who take action for what they want. I really appreciate the campus taken the action and the students getting involved. They have definitely informed a lot of students on campus.

I am not in support of any academic cuts—that’s not fair, that’s not okay. We pay way to much money and our fees are going up. We are losing all of these classes, all of these resources and all of these classes and teachers.

Links:

Tiffany Loftin for SUA Internal Vice Chair [Facebook]

Elections Guide: Spring 2009 [City on a Hill Press]

UC Santa Cruz Student Union Assembly [SUA]