(Photo: Courtesy of Sarah Nguyen)
What is a university for? This is a hotly debated question these days, but RUSGA Student Body President candidate Christopher Miller and his running mate, Sarah Nguyen, have an answer: the university should be a home for its students. To that end, the pair say that if elected, their first order of business would be to work with the university administration and Bon Appétit to reorganize the Main Café so that anyone can access the seating area.
“We really want to be more inclusive,” Nguyen, who is a sophomore majoring in Communication and English, told the Highlander in an email. “We want to open it up so that students, regardless if they have a meal plan or not, can come into the Cafe [sic] to eat and hang out with others.”
Nguyen also said they would work to expand the Café’s operating hours to better accommodate students with evening classes, and that this would be their primary objective for the end of the semester.
When asked about the pair’s larger vision for the Regis campus, Miller, a junior studying Accounting and Business Administration, said that they want to engender a strong feeling of home in the Regis community. The candidate, who before Regis had only lived in his hometown of Bridgewater, New Jersey, recounted how becoming involved on campus helped him forge a feeling of home after moving to Colorado, and said that he wants to help other Regis students do the same.
Nguyen said that she has had a similar experience, though she noted that hers is different in that she has been a commuter student from the start. She said that her time as a commuter assistant for Student Activities has helped her form a better understanding of the difficulties faced by her fellow commuters. In particular, Nguyen pointed out that many commuter students do not feel as though they truly belong to the community.
“It's our mission to break down barriers and help open campus up,” Nguyen said, “We have the opportunity to change the lives [sic] on campus.”
Both Miller and Nguyen claim to have the experience needed to make a big impact on campus. Miller currently represents the Business and Entrepreneurship Club in the RUSGA Senate, where he serves on the Marketing and Media Committee. He also runs the Best of Colorado program at Student Activities, which runs events that allow Regis students to experience all of what the state has to offer. In addition to her work with Student Acts, Nguyen has served on the RUSGA Campus Relations Committee, and is presently the director of the Student Involvement Committee, which organizes events like Snow Ball and Ranger Week, which is coming this April.
“Being involved with the B&E club, Event Services, Student Activities and RUSGA's Marketing and Media committee has shown me that there are many challenges that the Regis community faces,” Miller said, “I believe that with the unique combination of experiences that Regis has provided, I am prepared to tackle any of the challenges that arise.”
“Sarah and I want to create a feeling of home whenever you think about the Regis community,” said Miller.
Ford Mulligan Staff Reporter