Senior creative writing major Joel Barber will focus on students if chosen as ASI president.
He has never been a part of the student government, but he said he feels that being an outsider will help him better because he can relate to students.
Barber’s previous experience includes being a two-year member of the Residence Dorms Judicial Board, a College Beat intern and a worker at the University Student Union and the Maxson Center.
Barber said he wants to “reintroduce students to the student union and ASI.”
“[Students] should feel a part of [the USU and ASI],” he said. Barber explained that he wants students to know more about the USU than just the food court and know more about the people who work in ASI, not just when it’s time for elections.
Barber also said he wants to increase retention rates of student work on campus, build a smaller and closer campus community by increasing Beach pride and bring accountability of all student representatives in ASI.
To make students better acquainted with the USU and ASI, Barber said he wants ASI to “get outside of the office and make them known.” He also wants to have more pep rallies and bring back the Beach Pride discount. Additionally, Barber said that when he first started school here, some of the bands that performed on campus got him interested in finding out more about the USU. Because of this, he became more involved on campus, which is something he wants all students to experience.
Besides school spirit, more student body involvement, and the commuter school stigma, Barber said he wants to increase jobs on campus.
“Within the first 100 days, I want to bring more jobs in,” he said. He wants to extend work hours and have more paid jobs. Having paid jobs, he said, will retain more people and make them more accountable for their work.
ASI, also, needs to be accountable for the students and truly represent them, he said. He said he wants ASI to work harder at working for the students and getting things done.
“I want to see accomplishments earlier not just right before elections,” he said.
“I will have an open door policy where students can come in to talk to me,” Barber said. An open door policy, he said, will allow him to know what students want and help students “put a face to the name.”
He said he will try to accomplish his goals in a year and he will try. If they are not accomplished, then at least a foundation has been set, he said.
“They are small goals to be built on.”
Barber said he realizes that there are other major concerns students focus on such as tuition, parking and textbooks, and he said he will continue working on those issues by lobbying.
“I will lobby just as hard [as the current president] or harder,” he said.
He said he will maybe try to make some faculty parking spaces available to students and to extend the parking hours outside of Brotman Hall for students.
“I will still be a student buying textbooks like everyone else,” he said.
“I can say I’ve been there,” Barber said when speaking about the issues he wishes to address. “I am willing to help you get where you want to go,” he said and what he doesn’t know, “I will learn as I go,” Barber said.
