Get to know the Anderson 2017 ticket, the only ticket to be running in this year’s Undergraduate Student Government elections on the Polytechnic campus. Julia Anderson, a history and english junior, is campaigning to be USGP’s next President, alongside Jacob Phillabaum, an engineering sophomore running for Vice President of Services and James Larson, an engineering junior running for Vice President of Policy.
What are your policy and platform ideas?
Julia Anderson: “We’re going to be restructuring the budget and eliminating one of the committees … we’re replacing (the) outreach committee with appropriations … I want USG to be more accessible to students and I want it to serve the purpose that it’s meant for. I think that USG has been run pretty well this past year, but I would like, when I’m President, for it to function more as students come to us as students coming to us for something they want fixed or if that want to see something on campus. We hear their needs and their problems.”
“I want USG to be pretty transparent for students, and I want more students to be involved and feel comfortable coming to us.”
Why are you qualified for the offices you seek?
JA: “I’ve been very involved since I came to Poly. I was the student lead of Changemaker for a year, and I’ve been working at Changemaker for two years now. I’ve been in Student Government since I was a sophomore, as a Senator and Chair of University Affairs.”
“I am a familiar face on campus. I know the faculty really well. I know a lot of students, and I have a lot of experience. With my experience and involvement, I think I’m best suited for the job.”
James Larson: “My role in the senate was as chairman of the Government Operations Committee, where I worked with other senators to generate the bills that we need to approve funding requests and help the organization run more efficiently. I have experience working with my counterparts from the other campuses, as we recently worked together to redraft the elections code to be more clear and applicable to every campus.”
Jacob Phillabaum: “I believe I am qualified for this position as I currently work with a lot of different services that the University offers in my current role as USGP Senate President. I hear what the students of the Polytechnic campus would like to see change then I see work to see how we can get this done.”
What motivates you to want to run for this office?
JA: “I’m currently interning full-time at the Arizona State Senate, so I’ve experienced a lot of realistic policy and it … made me realize that this is something that I’m passionate about and this is what I want to do.”
JL: “As we have more, younger senators join our ranks, Julia, Jacob, and myself thought that we would be effective leaders with our collective experience. I work well with the two of them and we are excited to bring some more of our ideas to the senate next year.”
JP: “I was motivated to run by the possibility of working with Julia and James in order to create a better Polytechnic campus. As well as continuing the great work we started this school year and not letting that fall by the wayside. It was an opportunity I was not going to pass up on.”
Read more: Everything you need to know about USG elections, a voter guide
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