Position: Vice President of University Affairs
Name: Winston Liew
Year: Junior
Major: Computer Engineering
Slate: None
Why did you decide to run for this position?
“I am currently the College of Engineering Representative, so I was able to work with the current vice president of university affairs directly, but also at the same time while I was attending A.S. meetings I noticed that College of Engineering is very underrepresented in terms of the higher politics, only because engineers typically are not interested in politics. Working with Ronnie Cravens directly helped me to see that having people work together, the best results came from people of different walks of life and different majors to make one goal happen. I feel like there is a divide on campus in terms of who is the best college and just because you are in a certain major or college you’re not talking to other people within certain colleges and I want to (encourgae people to branch out).”
What makes you qualified for this position? What is your history with A.S.?
“I think I’m qualified for this position because I am currently a second-year RA, president of my fraternity (Sigma Phi Delta) and my association with A.S. is my time as the College of Engineering Representative this past year.”
What would you like to change at SDSU?
“There is some sort of divide between the colleges, there are various amazing clubs under every single college and they would benefit a lot from working together. There are a lot of things to do and grow if you promote cross-college collaboration and that’s kind of where my slogan came from because I want to motivate SDSU to collaborate with each other more and innovate what is current.”
Can you name something you like and something you dislike about A.S.?
“I love the opportunities that Associated Students provide. Associated Students promotes so many different committees, different ways to get involved across the colleges and clubs under the colleges. Something I dislike about A.S. is how it seems very exclusive. We are considered student leaders on campus and we’re somehow in the public eye on some kind of pedestal. A lot of people don’t really know what A.S is or what A.S does, but when they see me walking around in that polo, I am all of a sudden important or “better than them.” This is completely untrue. I am also a student, I’m trying to do things for the students, so I just want to make sure everyone knows that A.S. is for the students and we’re not here to be just a political organization.”
What would be your top three priorities in this role?
“One of the things I want to work on is making sure that SDSU collaborates with each other, collaborating with people of other colleges, different walks of life and making sure people know how to work together. Another thing I want to focus on is innovation, wanting to improve what is already here. SDSU is a fantastic campus and being able to innovate that in different places will cause a ripple effect which I believe (will) better the SDSU campus as a whole. To make sure that those two things happen, motivate SDSU. There is some kind of disconnect between the people who are super passionate about leadership like in A.S. and the other people who just go to school and then go home. I really want to know why that is and motivate them to reach out and get out of their comfort zone and be able to put themselves out there.”
Interviews have been edited for clarity and brevity.
