This summer has been busy for newly inducted Associated Students of the University of Arizona President Emily Fritze. Fritze, a political science senior, shared her plans for the 2010-2011 academic year with the Arizona Summer Wildcat.

Wildcat: What are your major plans for ASUA this year?

Fritze: I have a lot of different goals, which mainly cover individual projects and providing advocacy for students. We at ASUA plan to do a lot of outreach this year. We really want to try to get our name out there, let students know we are available to them, and be transparent about our goals and plans.

I want to encourage students to get involved and be communicators. My cabinet and I plan to visit clubs and dorms and maintain constant communication with students.

I’d also like to create a student blog that shows what I, as president, do on a day-to-day process.

Wildcat: Are there any specific issues you hope to address?

Fritze: We will be of course examining tuition, specifically program fees, and then seek(ing) out the best student opinion. With the program fees, we will see what kind of student input has been consulted and expand on that.

Wildcat: Besides tuition, are there any pressing issues you feel are necessary to focus on?

Fritze: We have ongoing issues every year that people in my position have to address — campus life, enrollment, quality of education, access to resources.

There are so many different issues for students and the opinion always depends on whom you talk to, so I think we will examine those issues individually as they arrive and try to find the best solution.

We are approaching a huge voting season in the 2010 elections. Therefore, we will be very active with that. Not only to register and motivate students to vote, but I also hope to bring some events to campus that will get students engaged and involved, such as on-campus debates.

These events are not specifically confirmed yet, but the election will definitely be a large part of our fall semester duties.

Wildcat: Were you involved at all at orientation?

Fritze: We did a lot for orientation. ASUA had a presentation at every orientation session on how to get involved and the resources that are on campus for the students. We had a booth and we were out there every day trying to get the word out about ASUA and how to get involved on campus.

Wildcat: Have you had any preemptive meetings last semester or over the summer?

Fritze: I’ve had meetings with a lot of administrators, faculty members and even some regents as early as April.

The meetings were mainly to talk about plans, ask for advice and make the necessary introductions so that once everything starts up in the fall, I have different resources around campus.

Wildcat: What can you say of your ASUA cabinet and fellow members?

Fritze: I’ve been in contact with a lot of my cabinet members — some are in the office. We will be working on the projects for the beginning of the year so they’ll be ready to go. I feel very confident about my cabinet. They are a very passionate group.

ASUA will be a very strong voice for students and our main goal is to be advocators for the student body on all issues. When presented with an issue, we will research and analyze everything to come up with educated solutions and opinions as a student body.