The Associated Students of the University of Arizona serves as the student government for undergraduate students, offering many programs, clubs, resources and services.
Established in 1913, ASUA now represents students with the goal of engaging and empowering, and is responsible for over 500 clubs and organizations on campus.
ASUA is composed of a student body president, 20 undergraduate senators, an executive vice president and an administrative vice president, all of whom are voted into their positions by the student body in the spring.
In addition, there are many directors, staffers and chairs for the different programs, services and resources ASUA offers.
Some of the programs offered by ASUA include: Legal Services, which offers students free legal advice from an attorney; Students for Sustainability, which aims to make the campus increasingly more conscious and sustainable; the Wildcat Events Board, which is in charge of planning events on campus; SafeRide, which offers students a free ride home at night; and VolunteerUA, which gives students opportunities to give back.
The new guard
Meet Michael Finnegan, the 2016-2017 ASUA president who hopes to be a great voice and representative for students.
Finnegan, a senior studying philosophy, politics, economics and law, has been involved with ASUA since his freshman year, and worked closely with the former president as his chief of staff last year.
Finnegan said he hopes to continue to be an adequate voice for students, listening and pushing their concerns to administration and the Arizona Board of Regents, especially when it comes to issues like tuition and funding.
READ: New ASUA senators talk positions and platforms
He added that one of his biggest goals for the upcoming school year is to reach out to the different cultural centers, clubs and the newly formed Marginalized Students of the University of Arizona in order to make sure their voices are being heard.
Finnegan said he also hopes to continue efforts on projects like the Arizona Student Government Collaborative to better represent Arizona’s student voice and to keep cost of attendance low, despite budget cuts.
His advice to incoming students is to take and find opportunities around campus.
“Getting involved, really experiencing all the campus has to offer and stepping outside of your comfort zone is so important,” Finnegan said.
Graduates have a voice, too
The Graduate and Professional Student Council is on campus to serve as the UA’s graduate student government.
GPSC’s mission as stated in its constitution is, “to promote the academic, economic and social aims of the graduate and professional students of the [UA], and to establish effective communication within the university and with other organizations.”
GPSC is composed of representatives, a president and a vice president, who are elected by graduate and professional students.
GPSC addresses graduate student issues including tuition, transparency, graduate student teachers and their pay, and looks into the concerns of graduate students.
Old dog, new tricks
Meet Zach Brooks, the 2016-2017 GPSC president.
Brooks, who has previously served as GPSC president for three years, is currently studying second language acquisition.
GPSC plans to tackle a number of issues throughout the year to improve the well-being of graduate students and professionals on campus, Brooks said.
He added that some of his main concerns are graduate student compensation, cost of attendance and increasing transparency within GPSC.
ASUA and GPSC serve as a medium between students and administration. Students interested in either ASUA or GPSC should check out their websites for opportunities and information.
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