External Vice Chair

Hey banana slugs my name is Victor Velasco and I’m excited to serve as your next External Vice Chair. Coming into this university, I was overwhelmingly surprised by rising cost of tuition and the large cuts in funding for higher education. As a product of k-12 education I’ve come to discover that getting a student into college is one challenge, and being retained within the university is another. Our retention is constantly at risk as we continue to face hard budget cuts that impact both our academic experience and student services on campus. My own experiences as a working class, 1st generation, queer, student of color have allowed me to understand and advocate for the wide range of issues that impact students across the UC system. As EVC I want to continue my hard work next year by being a champion for not only higher education, but public education altogether. I am committed to making sure that our issues become a priority on a local, statewide, and national level and ensure that lawmakers across our nation know that students are a force to be reckoned with. The borders that used to keep students out of higher education are coming back, and they’re coming back fast. We see it in the way that the state legislator votes when it comes to budget, when the Regents vote on tuition increases, and the way tax payers decide to fund higher education. Let us come together as a coalition of people from different backgrounds and spaces to advocate and demand nothing less than an affordable, accessible, diverse, and a quality education!

Position Duties/ Description:

• Represents the SUA to the University of California Student
  Association (UCSA).
• Represents the SUA to the United States Student Association (USSA).
• Helps to coordinate the UCSA and USSA external grassroots
  organizing campaigns in coordination with the Organizing Director
  and any other applicable SUA officer, intern, committee,
  subcommittee, task force, campus organization or campus unit.
• Assists the Chair in coordinating advocacy efforts on behalf of student
  interests, by doing research analysis on university policy system wide
  and nationally, and coordinating legislative campaigns in the local,
  state and national level.
• Represents the Student Union Assembly to off-campus entities as
  delegated by the Chair or the Assembly.
• Required to hold weekly office hours at the SUA office.
• Attend weekly officer meeting(s) to ensure communication and
  collaboration.
• Prepare a monthly report evaluating the SUA, which provides
  constructive criticism, for the purposes of improvement.
• Carryout any other duties as forth in this constitution, the bylaws,
  and/or assigned by the Assembly and/or Chair.
• Appoints the Legislative Liaison for the External Office by the last
  meeting of the Fall Quarter.

*** We are also going to have 2 or 5 credit internships available for students who are interested in learning more about External Affairs issues, organizing, advocating and lobbying. If you are interested please email me at evc.sua@gmail.com.