Will Smelko, the new president of the Associated Students of the University of California, Berkeley, spoke with Editor-in-Chief Ann Marie Jelacich about his goals for the upcoming year.

California Patriot: What have you been doing this summer in preparing for the upcoming year as ASUC president?

Will Smelko: One of the most important lessons I have learned since taking office is that the downfall of student government usually is caused by getting started too late. Often times, officials do not actually figure out what their major goals are until December or January, and by then it is too late to implement them. I am spending this summer getting a head start on all the work that we will be facing throughout the course of next year. This includes meeting with any and all relevant administrators to get a map of who does what and who we should contact when we need to accomplish things during the year, as well as planning out all our projects and events that we will be putting on. We are also recruiting staff members and doing interviews to build a very large and successful office.

Patriot: How have your views of the office changed (if at all), since obtaining the position?

Smelko: My views of the office have substantially changed since obtaining the position. I used to think it was the role of government to focus mainly on campus wide projects or events. However, I have come to understand the magnitude of my role as being the representational voice of the student body to the campus and outside communities. Berkeley is such an immense and fragmented institution with exciting things going on every day, and it is my duty to try and not miss a beat so that I can be at those meetings and voice the concerns and ideas of the student body.

Patriot: Have you come across any unexpected difficulties with achieving the goals you had while running for office?

Smelko: The first problem is that while we have a lot of great ideas for what we would love to see implemented, like everyone else we are short on the cash to do all the things we want. This problem, however, is pale in comparison to understanding the complexities of structure in the Berkeley universe. Our campus is so decentralized with things occurring on so many different fronts, that it often times becomes difficult to distinguish who deals with what, and where to go to get things done. This is why summer has become so valuable in helping get this knowledge under my belt, so that we can jump right in come fall.

Patriot: What do you realistically think you can accomplish this year as ASUC president?

Smelko: The beauty of the ASUC has also been its major downfall. There are so many opportunities just sitting on our doorstep, and we are in a prime position to have a significant impact on campus policy and student life. However, students have justly witnessed past ASUC administration’s inability to multitask and leaving a lot of these opportunities to waste. Next year we will be organizing programs that foster community and learning outside the classroom, taking up policy initiatives that will improve student life, and enhancing the commercial operations of the ASUC. Our goal is to put students in a position to use innovation to bring new ideas and changes to our student union, projects, and even the way we approach dealing with campus policy.

Patriot: How does your board plan to unify the senate and make effective changes to benefit the student body?

Smelko: The perfect person to help bring unity and efficiency to our student government is Tu Tran, our executive vice president. Tu’s focus has always been on tangible action items we can deliver for students and it is my belief that when we focus on the actual work at hand we tend to ditch all the unnecessary bickering that accompanies senseless political battles. Tu has a lot of great ideas for improving the meetings themselves, but the most important aspect to bringing unity is the tone we set about why we are here. When we truly understand that the ASUC’s job is to serve the student body instead of ourselves or our own political affiliations, we tend to get a lot more done and everyone (including the student body) is happier in the process.

Patriot: Do you have anything that you would like to say to the Cal students going into the year?

Smelko: I would just ask that students do their part to remain committed and informed. The ASUC is an association of the entire student body, and as such we are only as strong as the students we are comprised of. This doesn’t mean everyone has to take up work in an office, but even if you just take the due diligence to find out more about how buying books at our student store benefits the students financially, or about how encouraging faculty to list their textbooks for the upcoming semester early could save you millions of dollars in textbook costs, you are doing your part to benefit not just the ASUC, but your university, yourself, and your fellow students. Thank you and I look forward to a very exciting year!

Popularity: 17%