The Associated Students of the University of Arizona recently hired Kayla Randolph and Citlali Chimal as the new co-directors of the university’s Campus Closet program.
Campus Closet is an ASUA organization that distributes business and business casual clothing to all staff and students that need it. These clothes are acquired through donations from the community. Whoever shows up to the Campus Closet distribution is given four points to use for clothing items and accessories costing between a half a point and two points.
Campus closet is located across from the CatCard office on the first floor of the Student Union Memorial Center. Staff and students can visit Campus Closet and pick up clothing on Wednesdays from 3 to 5 p.m.
“I was really looking for something that’s more personal than just a job for me, and then back home in California, I used to work with some nonprofits, like food banks and stuff. So, when I saw the Campus Closet, it really spoke like true to me and like what I was looking for and I felt like I could make a difference on campus,” Randolph said when asked why she wanted to be a director of Campus Closet.
Both Randolph and Chimal expressed interest in the director position because of the difference that Campus Closet is making, and the need for the kind of work that Campus Closet is doing.
“We felt that these candidates were the strongest because together they had a diverse skill set to meet distribution needs, but also marketing [needs] for the program,” stated ASUA Administrative Vice President Kyle Kline when asked why Randolph and Chimal were hired as Campus Closet co-directors.
Randolph and Chimal said they are hoping to raise awareness of Campus Closet and remove any possible stigma associated with visiting it. They are hoping for more staff and students to use Campus Closet as a resource whenever necessary.
“We just really want to break down those walls of stigma and negative comments about shopping, like reused clothes, but we just want to make sure that everybody has that resource. So, I think that just like, come in and feel comfortable, no judgments,” Chimal stated.
One physical challenge that the new co-directors have had to face regarding Campus Closet is construction. The Campus Closet area is currently being renovated, which has resulted in limited space and the inability to have distribution on Oct. 13 and Oct. 20. However, the result of this construction will be a larger distribution area.
“We do have construction, which does put like a little bit [of an] unknown for our organization. Definitely towards the end of the month or early November, we’ll start seeing some more collaborations, more outreach events,” Randolph stated.
More information about Campus Closet can be found on their Instagram @ua.campuscloset and their Linktree.
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