With the growing divide between students and the administration, many students are looking for a platform to voice their concerns. The upcoming Student Union Assembly (SUA) elections are one such pathway.
SUA is the official student government at UC Santa Cruz, composed of six lead members and several elected officials from colleges and clubs. Together, they serve as the bridge between the administration and students. They host campus-wide events, educational opportunities for students to learn about direct action organizing, as well as provide sponsoring for Registered Student Organizations through an application process.
A series of debates were held between April 30 and May 3 for candidates to establish and differentiate their viewpoints from their opponents. The debates featured candidates for four positions: SUA president, vice president of external affairs (VPEA), vice president of academic affairs (VPAA), and vice president of internal affairs (VPIA).
VPAA Candidates Shaniya Woods and Michael Andrew face off in an hour-long debate on May 2 at Classroom Unit 1. Photos by Nidhi Bhat.
Along with SUA positions, students can also vote on ballot measures that pertain to actions affecting campus life.
Voting is open now at elections.ucsc.edu or through an email sent to students UCSC email account. Elections are open until May 16 at 11:59 p.m.
Roles and descriptions:
SUA President: The SUA president is the designated leader of the undergraduate student body. The president secures a clear line of communication from the assembly and the UCSC campus.
SUA Vice President for External Affairs (EVP): The SUA vice president for external affairs represents the SUA to the broader, off-campus community. It is their duty to assist the president in coordinating public support campaigns on behalf of student interests.
Vice President of Internal Affairs (IVP): The vice president of internal affairs assists in coordinating internal campus-wide campaigns. As the chair of the Student Committee on Committees, this position oversees the formation of SUA committees as well as ensuring a student voice is present in various campus committees.
Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion (VPDI): The vice president of diversity and inclusion communicates with campus resource centers, including Educational Opportunities Program (EOP), Disability Resource Center (DRC) and Ethnic Student Organization (ESOC), among others.
Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA): The vice president of academic affairs creates and sustains communication with UCSC, the Academic Senate and undergraduate academic programs.
Vice President of Student Life (VPSL): The vice president of student life establishes a clear relationship between the undergraduate student population and the SUA. From advertising the SUA to creating events for the student body, this position strives to improve the student experience.
Two slates, or groups of candidates campaigning together, are running for the open positions this year. City on a Hill Press interviewed candidates from both slates and those running independently. CHP asked candidates about issues they hope to address through their position if elected.
Our University, Our Voice Slate
The “Our University, Our Voice” slate, composed of six members, is running under the slogan “Rooted in community, we are the student movement. The time is now.”
“We want to honor the work of those who have come before us and who have done really great work, and we want to ultimately bring other people with us into spaces where the university has told them that they don’t belong,” explained presidential candidate Rigo Ventura. “We want student voices to be heard in spaces where the university has tried to criminalize, tried to silence, student voices.”
Presidential Candidate: Rigo Ventura
Previous and current involvement on campus: Current vice president of student life and former Oakes Student Senate representative.
What are some student challenges you hope to address?
“I have three [challenges] that are impactful for the SUA presidency. The first one would be student oversight and transparency, especially around the campus budget. It’s not fair to the members of the UC Santa Cruz community who pay money to go to school here are essentially being told, ‘Whoops, sorry. Your resources were cut.’
The second point is I really would like to flip the way that the hierarchy functions at this university …. [Students] should be part of decisions. We need to bring back press conferences where student media is allowed to speak directly with administrators, especially the chancellor of our university.
The third one is I really want to defend working class students, students from cultural backgrounds that are systemically marginalized, black and brown students on this campus.”
Vice President of Internal Affairs Candidate: Maya Payés 
Previous and current involvement on campus: Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán (M.E.Ch.A) member.
What are some student challenges you hope to address?
“I really want to focus on bringing back priority housing …. Where are we gonna live? Where can we afford to live? Also, fighting for the equitable funding and resource allocation that’s needed for our internal groups, student [organizations], on campus. We’re all here collectively within our communities because we want to be heard, and we want to be seen.”
Vice President of External Affairs Candidate Benjamin Díaz
Previous involvement and current involvement on campus: Current interim SUA vice president of external affairs and previous vice chair of Cowell College Senate and M.E.Ch.A core member.
What are some student challenges you hope to address?
“Issues like free speech that [are] being attacked right now. The EVP office can reach out to our community members within student media, ask them to come, and then we can lobby the federal lawmakers and raise this issue: Our free speech is being attacked [and] our basic needs are suffering right now … The EVP office can help be a vessel for students to voice their concerns and talk to their lawmakers and be heard.”
Vice President of Academic Affairs Candidate: Shaniya Woods
Previous and current involvement on campus: Black Student Union core member and founder of The Cook Out.
What are some student challenges you hope to address?
“Why are students forced to worry about food, housing and more? I wanna make the education you pay for worth staying for. Because real change starts with education and you can’t dismantle systems you don’t understand. This isn’t just about policy. It’s about people. It’s about making sure that every student at UCSC has the resources, support and respect they need to succeed. We all feel what’s going on at this campus, so admin should too.”
Taken from @ouruniversity.ourvoice on instagram
Vice President of Student Life Candidate: Kash Mejia 
Previous and current involvement on campus: Bayanihan ‘A Step Forward’ co-coordinator and Engaging Education Board of Directors alternate intern and UCSC Humanities EXCEL fellow.
What are some student challenges you hope to address?
“One of my main concerns is accessibility to basic needs support …. Students deserve housing, students deserve food, students deserve a place to be able to feel like they can afford to be here at this university. Another one of the big things is collaborative networking …. There are so many different student organizations that are doing great work on campus already, but campus geography isolates us, and I don’t want to overlook the great work that these student organizations do already. I wanna be able to give credit by working collaboratively with these students … and really [be] able to give a voice to the student life here because that’s not what administration does.”
Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion Candidate: Malia Peris 
Previous and current involvement on campus: Asian/Pacific Islander Student Alliance (APISA) core member, student-initiated outreach coordinator representing APISA at Engaging Education and a UCSC Mauna Kea Protectors: UC Divest Coalition member.
What are some student challenges you hope to address?
“There are so many challenges, but my main concern is to protect and uphold DEI on-campus. [The] administration does not believe in students governing their own money, while also [trying] to decrease our funding overall. Protecting our spaces that keep students here is my top priority.”
R.E.A.L UCSC Slate
The R.E.A.L. (Reform, Equity, Action and Leadership) Slate is composed of four members who are running under the slogan ‘Higher education without Students is Performative.’
When asked to explain the slate’s vision, presidential candidate Logan Wells responded:
“Our Slate promises Reform, Equity, Action, Leadership, or R.E.A.L., which is running on a platform to pull back the curtain of student government and increase students’ ability to find advocacy tools. We want to bring more STEM majors to make SUA a place of true student discourse rather than one where the same people are promoted internally, circumventing the student election process. We want to preserve the great work the SUA does with our student body’s great minds, which the current SUA establishment has underappreciated.”
Presidential Candidate: Logan Wells 
Previous and current involvement on campus: Current representative of the Mixed Ethic & Cultural Student Association in the SUA and current SUA general body member.
What are some student challenges you hope to address?
“The main challenge is access to advocacy. While the SUA does pass sensible measures, it does so in a comfortable vacuum. Outreach is often limited, maintaining a rotating carousel of the same faces rather than an influx of new eyes who could provide their dynamic perspective. I want advocacy not only visible but also accessible so people feel empowered to stand up for their rights while pursuing their dreams. In my position, I plan to hold my required office hours in each College over the quarter and establish a new modern communication method to streamline our ability to collaborate.”
Taken from an email statement from the candidate.
Vice President of Internal Affairs Candidate: Marcus Jian 
Previous and current involvement on campus: Current John R. Lewis College Governance Cooperative member and current political organizer for the UCSC College Democrats club.
What are some student challenges you hope to address?
“In the past year, the SUA hasn’t managed to pass a single, meaningful resolution. Out of the dozen-or-so advisory committees of the SUA, a majority exists in name only, consuming resources without delivering tangible results for students. I don’t think these are signs of a functional student government and neither should you. This abdication of responsibility not only wastes time and money, but it also discourages student involvement and prevents meaningful student advocacy. As students, we deserve so much more. We deserve a more responsive SUA, a more efficient SUA, and a more responsible SUA.”
Taken from @r.e.a.l.ucsc on instagram
Vice President of External Affairs Candidate: Brianna Pietri
Previous and current involvement on campus: UCSC Lobby Corps member.
What are some student challenges you hope to address?
“I aim to improve reachability and inclusiveness for all students. Many students don’t know what the SUA is or how it serves them — especially those who aren’t politics majors or politically active. During my time at UCSC, I’ve been denied the opportunity to participate in SUA events multiple times, and I want to change that by making the SUA more welcoming and accessible. Another key issue I want to address is the implementation of the College Corps program. The EVP can play a crucial role in helping bring this program to UCSC through communication with the UC Regents and campus administration. This program could support students with tuition, housing, and other expenses.”
Taken from an email statement from the candidate
Vice President of Academic Affairs Candidate: Michael Andrew 
Previous and current involvement on campus: Current Crown College Government representative.
What are some student challenges you hope to address?
“Long-term, I want to enhance access to research opportunities, expand housing and transit, and improve post-graduation job prospects while also mitigating and reducing the prohibitive cost of attendance at UCSC. Immediately, however, we need to face the crisis before us: to ensure international and undocumented student safety in the light of arbitrary deportations, and protect research by advocating against budget cuts and for major philanthropic contributions to UCSC.”
Taken from an email statement from the candidate
Not Affiliated with a Slate
Presidential Candidate: Aljon (Jiro) Claveria
Previous and current involvement on campus: Current Student Union Assembly Office of the President office manager and current Kuya-Ate Mentorship Program coordinator.
What are some student challenges you hope to address?
“I aim to confront the realities of the housing crisis, food insecurity, mental health collapse, sexual violence, and the growing criminalization of free speech, issues that continue to weigh heavily on our most vulnerable students, including undocumented and marginalized communities. We’ve been forced to be complicit and been told by the administration to ‘wait and see,’ or to blame it all on the budget deficit and budget cuts, crises never created by students, yet one we are forced to pay for … We must start by questioning the quality of services we receive, from outdated buses and overcrowded classrooms, to unaffordable food and unlivable wages and housing…In these times, especially these times, we must learn to defy.”
Taken from an email statement from the candidate
