Q&A: New UCSA board member Denea Joseph discusses goals
Denea Joseph, a third-year political science student, was appointed as a campus organizing director for the University of California Student Association.
By Jeong Park
June 30, 2014 12:27 a.m.
The original version of this article and caption accompanying the photo for this article contained errors and have been changed. See the bottom of the article for more information.
The Undergraduate Students Association Council appointed Denea Joseph, a third-year political science student, to the University of California Student Association Board of Directors on Tuesday.
Joseph, who also serves on the Associated Students UCLA Board of Directors and had served on the USAC External Vice President’s office’s state and university affairs staff, will serve as a non-voting member on the board, which includes members from most undergraduate and graduate student governments at different UC campuses and advocates for students on University issues.
Joseph is tasked with coordinating campus campaigns for UCSA and recruiting students for UCSA conferences and workshops. Last week, she spoke with the Daily Bruin about the job and her goals for the year.
Daily Bruin: Some students have expressed concerns that UCSA is not visible to the average student. How do you hope to address this? How do you hope to reach out to students who are not already involved in UCSA?
Denea Joseph: We want to make sure we reach out to all different campus networks. For instance, we want to make sure our delegation to the UC Student Congress in August is as diverse as possible. Those delegates will come back to the campus and make a difference in their organizations. What they learn is what they can bring back to their own community.
DB: Your job involves advocating for students on campus but also communicating with students. How do you hope to hear from students?
DJ: We want to make sure we do teach-ins (small conferences) on the Hill and on campus. (UCSA) conferences may coincide with work and other obligations so by bringing that to the Hill and having students come in the evening, that allows (us) to better disseminate information about UCSA. We will also make sure we engage students (through) events on Bruin Walk because that’s where you have one-on-one interactions.
DB: Some criticisms of UCSA are that the greater student population has not had much of a voice in the organization’s decisions and that UCSA has not been as proactive as it could be. How do you plan to address these criticisms?
DJ: Students don’t feel like they are represented, but the only reason that happens is (because) students give up at the initial stage. I am not going to give up. I am very persistent so once I’m passionate about those issues, I am going to make sure I will fight to make sure students’ voices are heard. I want to accurately represent students on campus. I am going to make sure I stand up and voice my opinion.
DB: You will serve not only on the UCSA board but also on the ASUCLA Board of Directors next school year. How do you plan to balance your work at ASUCLA and UCSA?
DJ: They are directly related because they deal with campus engagement. ASUCLA is about making sure we bring what students want. UCSA is the exact same thing. I don’t feel like it’s a daunting task.
DB: You have said that you only want to work on two UCSA campaigns next year. Why?
DJ: We don’t want to take on too much. Campaigns such as (Invest in Education, Not Incarceration, Transform Education) have multiple aspects. We want to dissect those campaigns for (students).
DB: As a member of the UCSA Board of Directors, you have a voice in shaping next year’s initiatives for UCSA. What do you hope to see in the new UCSA campaigns?
DJ: I would like to see something that pertains to immigration reform. I want to make sure we want to focus on a specific aspect (of the issue), maybe the accessibility of the UC to undocumented immigrants. I want to make sure we want to increase (the number of) undocumented students at the UC. Even though there is a California Dream Act that gives financial aid to undocumented students, we haven’t seen a large amount of them who have access to higher education.
Compiled by Jeong Park, Bruin senior staff.
Correction: Joseph said she wants to do small teach-ins on the Hill. She is the campus organizing director for UCSA.
