The Presidential Interviews
April 17th, 2024 | Jasmine Okincha, Senate Liaison
The executive board of ASUCM encompasses some of the highest-ranking positions an undergraduate student can achieve within UC Merced’s student government. The Prestige founder Jasmine Okincha interviews Devlan Smith, pro-Palestine YDSA organizer and Presidential candidate; and Keirah Jones, first-year political science student and candidate for External Vice President.
Devlan is a first-year psychology major running for the position of President of ASUCM. Though he initially was considering running for the Treasurer position, he shifted his goal to the presidency in order to enact greater change at UC Merced. He is a current organizer with YDSA and had a hand in campaigning for a reproductive justice bill that recently passed in ASUCM. Devlan also had a hand in organizing the demonstrations for Palestine seen across campus in the past year and is an active member of Students for Justice in Palestine.
Q: What leadership experiences make you fit for a position on ASUCM?
I’ve attended several ASUCM meetings and maintain positive relations with several senators, and I have a good insight on what ASUCM generally does on a day-to-day basis. I work well with other people and I’m always open to new ideas. I’m also very service-oriented and strive to serve my community and my campus any way I can.
Q: Tell me a bit about the slate that you’re affiliated with and the values you share.
“That was founded on a shared passion for accountability within ASUCM and the goal of moving forward with the SJP agenda as well as other goals like improving workers’ rights and access to mental health services on campus.”
Q: Accountability and transparency is a common talking point with your slate members. How do you intend to foster that in your role as president?
“I plan to work with the other members of the executive board with an emphasis on student outreach so people can see that ASUCM exists and has the capacity to serve their issues and concerns. More than that, I see ASUCM as a way for students to connect with admin directly and hold them accountable for some of the chances we see on campus. I’m aware that the president regularly meets with the chancellor to discuss issues on campus and I want to use that as a tool for accountability.
Q: What’s your current perception of UC Merced and ASUCM?
“In my short time on campus I’ve grown to really love it here, and there’s a lot of students pushing for the improvements they want to see. Within ASUCM, our student representatives have so much on their plate but they’re still putting in the work to be the change. In running for president of ASUCM I hope to join that cohort of students and surround myself with other activists who work to make this campus a better place.
Q: Can you outline specific goals or projects you hope to implement?
“As a member of the executive board I can’t directly author bylaws, but I’ve seen other senators regularly hosting meetings with administrative figures and introducing resolutions and I want to carry on that practice in any way that I can.”
Q: How do you envision your contributions leaving a lasting impact on UCM’s campus?
“I definitely want my contributions to help out our student workers, grant them things like bargaining rights and better ability to secure fair wages and hours. I absolutely intend to make that part of my legacy. Beyond that I also want to put UC Merced on the map for its SJP movement.
Q: How do you intend to promote political engagement on campus?
“I do my best to put myself out there and make sure students are aware of ASUCM, and that’s something I plan to carry on doing even if I’m not voted in. But if I am elected, I’d like to work more closely with the rest of the executive board to run more awareness events. The biggest thing is to really talk to students and make sure we’re there to serve their needs.”
Q: What strategies do you have for fostering inclusivity and diversity on campus?
“A lot of student organizations are built on diversity and I think the best way to foster inclusivity is to support those organizations the best I can.”
Q: How do you approach making difficult decisions even with conflicting interests?
“The best thing to do is educate yourself and learn both sides of the arguments, and especially to get the perspectives of people on both sides. It’s important to make the final judgment on what you learned and not just off of predetermined leanings.”
Keirah is a member of UC Merced’s cheer and Mock Trial teams and serves on the executive board of Chi Alpha. She enters this year’s elections with a mind for communication and activism, demonstrating prior experience in high school from lobbying the Fresno Unified School District on child abuse policy and leading a protest against anti-black discrimination within the education system.
Q: Why the EVP position specifically?
“I enjoy taking the initiative to reach out to the higher-ups who can really get things done. When it comes to issues like food and housing I want to go straight to the people who manage the funding and have a say in how those issues are handled.”
Q: How do you plan to foster transparency and accountability in your role?
”I welcome accountability, and I ask that my fellow students hold me accountable in turn. I don’t want to be the sort of student government official that demonstrates hypocrisy. I also welcome disagreement and I want to be able to consider every aspect and point of view on whatever topic is at hand.”
Q: What do you hope to achieve during your time in office?
“I really hope that we figure out something for the housing crisis, that’s probably my biggest priority. But I also think there needs to be major change with the quality of education. Every semester, every year tuition rates go up but the quality of education is decreasing because lecturers in certain majors are losing employment. In political science, in GASP, we’re losing professors and classes and missing out on necessary education but still paying the same if not more for it.”
Q: What is your current perception of UC Merced and ASUCM?
”I think that UC Merced has a beautiful campus, but I think it’s not very receptive to change. You can reach out to plenty of administrators, but it’ll be days before you hear back from them. I think this was really exemplified during the housing crisis. You can email your RAs if you’re having housing issues, but your RAs can only do so much and it’s significantly harder to get in touch with their superiors. It’s harder to get in touch with people the higher you go on the administrative food chain. As far as ASUCM, I think they’re doing great but there’s a lot of potential for positive change as long as compromise is in mind.”
Q: Can you outline specific goals or projects you want to implement?
”I want to make sure that everyone is guaranteed on-campus housing at least until the first semester of your third year. Housing prices are rising all across California and we need to account for that. I also think that we should be guaranteed certain classes that are necessary to graduate for our major. Those are my two main goals as EVP.”
Q: How do you envision your contributions making a lasting impact on UC Merced?
UC Merced gets a bad rep compared to the other UCs, but it’s a good school with a lovely campus and the classes that we do offer are great. I think we need to expand our horizons for all majors and ensure equitable support not just for STEM students but also for our humanities students. I hope we can see more resources put towards those fields of study, and I also want to make taking out loans for housing less of a commonplace occurrence.
Q: How do you intend to promote engagement on campus?
“I’m a big fan of events and polls. I’ll happily go around campus and ask people’s opinions and I’d love to see more opportunities for people to voice their thoughts on campus activities and initiatives. I also want to put heavier emphasis on social media, not just Instagram but TikTok as well, and I think increased social media presence would also greatly benefit ASUCM. No one’s fully aware of what ASUCM does and I think publicizing the events you host on social media would be great for engagement. “
Q: Give an example of a time when you had to work with someone who disagreed with your opinion and how you resolved it.
“When I wrote the policy for Fresno Unified a lot of the board members weren’t in agreement with it and felt that my policy was unnecessary, even though a lot of other demographics felt that they were left out of the current policies in place. I wanted to prove that there was an issue. I don’t want to avoid healthy debate just to minimize confrontation. It’s important to actually sit down and form a solution rather than just arguing over the issue.”
Q: How do you approach making difficult decisions, especially with conflicting interests?
“I’m a pros-and-cons person, but I also understand that there’s in-betweens to account for. I also want to get everyone’s opinion and take all aspects into account, so even after I make a plan I’ll run it by everyone else too. And I want them to really pay attention to why they agree with what they agree with, and why they disagree with what they disagree with.”
Q: Any parting thoughts?
“I have a lot of experience in this type of field and I want to make sure everyone feels heard. Everyone deserves to know who to talk to if they have an issue, because at the end of the day we’re all here to receive our higher education. We all belong here and I don’t ever want anyone to feel otherwise.”
