How do you plan to keep your constituents (UMD graduate students) informed about the activities of the UMD Senate? How do you plan to learn their opinions on policies on which you will have to vote?

To maintain connections with students and keep students informed about the activities of the UMD Senate I plan to maintain close connections with Graduate Student Government, routinely reach out via the listservs I can get. I currently often email connections I have in departments, which is ineffective and inefficient, I believe this points out the need to find better ways to keep graduate students connected. I have an open-door policy that I am always happy to grab and coffee and chat with any graduate students about their grievances and issues.

Do you support collective bargaining rights for graduate assistants? If so, have you signed the Fearless Student Employees statement of support? If not, why not?

I support policies that are in the best interest of the collective graduate student body, in which collective bargaining is one. I have been participating in Fearless Student Employees since 2021 and was one of the testifiers to the Maryland Senate Finance Committee in 2021.

Have you previously been involved in any form of governance at UMD, whether through committees of the UMD Senate, on the Graduate Student Government, or otherwise? If not, have you been involved in other student groups at UMD, or in student government prior to your time at UMD?

I have served in numerous forms of shared governance at UMD. Currently, I serve as a University Graduate Student Senator for BSOS. On the University Senate I serve on the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Executive Committee. Even today I was able to bring up graduate student collective bargaining rights during the Senate session. Additionally, I have served on Graduate Student Government for 2 years. The first year as a department representative for Government and Politics and serving as the Chair of the Governance Committee as well as a committee member on Academic Affairs and Diversity and Inclusion. Currently, I am serving as the Vice President for Legislative Affairs for Graduate Student Government and chairing both the Rules and Legislative Action Committee. In addition, I also serve as a Graduate Student member of the Graduate Council.

If elected, which UMD Senate Committees would you want to join, and why?

I am extremely passionate about the Senate Executive Committee. Plainly put, they set the Senate Agenda and serve as the gatekeepers to the Senate. I also have experience with Robert’s Rules of Order, which makes my understanding of parliamentarian procedure a useful skill. I have tried for 2 years to get on the Diversity and Inclusion committee, even as an ex-officio seat, but to no success.

If you could make one specific policy change during your tenure on the UMD Senate, what would it be?

An overarching theme would be the inclusion and respect to diversity and inclusion focusing on intersectionality. While we have protections under Title IX, there is still a lot of work to be done, whether that be due surrounding issues of gender and gender identity, parental accommodations, or international students. If I could change one specific policy change during my tenure at UMD it would be to work on enhancing support and safe spaces for marginalized individuals and working towards creating a culture where sexual harassment and discrimination are the outliers. I want to find a better way to support victims and create education around the problem.

I am asking for your support to continue to represent BSOS as a University Graduate Student Senator. In the current academic year, I have served as the Graduate Student Government (GSG) Vice President of Legislative Affairs and as Speaker for the Assembly. In this role, I have advocated for numerous graduate students' issues including issues surrounding graduate student housing, family accommodation policies, and many issues surrounding diversity and inclusion. With the help and teamwork of Gabi Wy, GSG was able to lobby the county for caps on rent spikes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, this past year I have served as a University Graduate Student Senator for BSOS, in this role I have learned more about the internal dynamics at UMD that will enable me to be a stronger advocate for graduate student issues. We are a community of growing scholars and I want to make sure our experiences as graduate students enable us to live up to our full potential. With your support, I will continue to advocate for the difficult plights that face graduate students and advocate for change to better support our community as the only way through this is together!