Editors’ Note: This article is a continuation of City on a Hill Press’ coverage of the 2025 Campus Elections. Many interviewees’ quotes work in context with their previous statements.
After much anticipation, the 2025-26 Student Union Assembly (SUA) results are in and next year’s members have been chosen.
SUA is the official student government at UC Santa Cruz, composed of six lead members and several elected officials from colleges and student organizations. 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 offering funding to registered student organizations through an application process.
Ending a rigorous campaign process, all members of the “Our University, Our Voice” slate were elected and will begin their term in the fall of 2025. City on a Hill Press conducted post-election interviews, asking how the new SUA board plans to step into their new role, and uphold their campaign promises.
The candidates’ titles have been changed from “president” and “vice president” to “chair” and “vice chair” respectively in accordance with the amended SUA constitution, which passed in the campus elections.
Chair of the SUA: Rodrigo ‘Rigo’ Ventura
Pronouns: He/Him
What is your first course of action in this role?
“I really want to make it super clear to the chancellor who [the SUA] will be as an executive team …. First course of action is to create a list of demands that students want based on our student bill of rights, based on talking to many different students and bringing that to our very first meeting with the chancellor.”
How will you begin to uphold your campaign promises?
During his campaign, Ventura detailed several student issues he aims to address, such as protecting marginalized students, bringing back press conferences and budget transparency.
“In order to protect [students belonging to] different marginalized communities, we have to talk about the attacks from the federal administration.
I hope to work with the president of the graduate student association, the presidents of the undergraduate student bodies from the many different UC campuses, along with bringing in the president of the UC system and let him know we will not back down to make sure that Black American students on our campus are protected, undocumented students on our campus are protected, [and] queer students on our campuses are protected.
The other piece is budget transparency … right now, my largest priority is the protection of our student organizations …. Before we even jump to budget transparency, I’m going to need [administration] to stop trying to poke their fingers into students’ fees and student money, and where students have decided they want their money to go.”
Vice Chair of Internal Affairs: Maya Payes
Pronouns: She/Her/Ella
What is your first course of action in this role?
“Making sure that we as UCSC students and as the student union … we’re there in the conversations when higher education is under attack.
I am also planning to make sure that we partner up with student organizations that are already doing the work on campus, getting things done …. Just uplifting the work that students are already doing in a way that we can actually have cohesive progress.”
How do you plan to uphold your campaign promises?
During her campaign, Payes noted several student issues she aims to address, such as reintroducing priority housing and funding for internal groups on campus.
Payes responded with the following in an email to City on a Hill Press:
“Outlined below are my fall initiatives:
Classroom Outreach in College Core Courses
Implement brief 10-minute SUA and [Student Committee on Committees (SCOC)] presentations during fall quarter in all college core classes for incoming freshmen. The purpose being to increase awareness about SUA and specifically SCOC’s role in student governance and advocacy.
Fall Visibility & Mobilization Event: Housing Advocacy
Organize a campus-wide event to raise awareness about the new housing lottery system and how it affects low-income, EOP [Equal Opportunity Programs], and first-generation students.
Launch a petition calling for the reinstatement of priority housing for these communities.
Plan a celebratory and culturally-rooted gathering (i.e., jaripeo/rodeo) in partnership with student organizations, combining community celebration with collective action and petition signing.”
Vice Chair of External Affairs: Benjamin Díaz
Pronouns: He/Him/Él
What is your first course of action in this role?
Note: Lobby Corps is a committee under the VC of External Affairs Office that offers free workshops where students can learn how to lobby at different institutional levels.
“Working with the Lobby Corps Director under my office and planning how we’re going to make Lobby Corps more inclusive and more accessible for students. Setting up delegations, preparing students for lobbying on the state and federal level and making [Lobby Corps] more accessible by promoting it to different corners of the campus.”
How do you plan to uphold your campaign promises?
During his campaign, Díaz detailed student issues he aims to address, such as free speech on campus, and the ability of students to use the External Affairs office to talk to lawmakers.
“Making it known that the EVP office is established within the SUA and we are accessible for students, focusing on those groups that aren’t really being heard or represented.
And so I’d really advocate for a campaign around free speech, and basic needs, accessibility to basic needs and protection and expansion of financial aid. I’m really going to advocate during [University of California Student Assembly] meetings, and throughout the whole year.”
Vice Chair of Academic Affairs: Shaniya Woods
Pronouns: Any/All
What is your first course of action in this role?
“What’s really important is reintroducing myself in the [VCAA] role to the different spaces on campus, so then not just leadership, but their general body, know who I am. That’s kind of the piece we were fighting during those last elections, was that a lot of people didn’t know what [SUA] roles meant. And so making sure that they know my name, know my face, and know the office is really important.
I want to make sure projects are things I feel like are going to be meeting students needs, making sure that students know that things are happening and that they can go to meetings and that they can sit in on things, like the Academic Senate meetings where it’s easily accessible for students, getting their voices on what does the SUA deem a priority in this moment is really important, so we can make sure that the things we are doing are things students want.”
How do you plan to uphold your campaign promises?
During their campaign, Woods detailed student issues they aim to address, such as resource availability and implementation of a bias reporting system. This system would aim to streamline the process through which a student would report a professor for bias, as well as generally improve professor accountability.
“First, telling [admin] how a system is working. Step two is creating a system where students can report their situations, where it’s them telling their story, telling which professor it was, so then we can create a list.
That’s probably going to turn into a project of calling all organizations who have surveys out, seeing what their statistics are in their communities and bringing in the different organization leaders to actually have a sit-down conversation about how it’s affecting their communities, because dealing with issues of bias can show up in many different forums.
If we have all of the statistics of how many students feel currently unsafe in the classroom, [admin] can’t ignore that. And I’m gonna make sure they can’t ignore that, because I’m gonna bring it up any chance I can.”
Vice Chair of Student Life: Kash Mejia
Pronouns: He/Him
What is your first course of action in this role?
“One of my biggest priorities is being able to strategize how I’m effectively going to outreach to the greater student body. I really want to be able to show the student body the different organizations that we have here on campus.
But through that, I need to hire interns in order to make my advertisement on social media, through newsletters in order to really highlight what organizations do here on this campus.”
How do you plan to uphold your campaign promises?
During his campaign, Mejia detailed student issues he aims to address, such as basic needs support and collaborative networking.
“I want to work on expanding where the grocery pop-ups will be, maybe in more mobile places in case students are on the go.
And I want to maintain a greater relationship with [organizations], specifically because I want to advocate for student concerns. I think one of the biggest problems is that there are so many different centers that students get redirected so many different times in trying to access basic needs, and so that could be hard for a student just trying to survive.
I want to be able to center on how effectively [organizations] are doing their outreach in order to meet the students’ needs, because I am supposed to be advocating for students.”
Vice Chair of Diversity and Inclusion: Malia Peris
Pronouns: She/They
City on a Hill Press reached out to Peris for a statement, but has not yet received a response as of publication.
