I stroll into the pub on campus at 5:25. I wanted to be here early, but of course she’s sitting at our usual table working on some homework. Crap. Malia Olson has her reusable water bottle, recycled materials phone case, and half a dozen rings on her fingers. She is engulfed in her bio homework when I sit down. She’s not nervous, nor should she be. This doesn’t feel much different than our thrice a week dinner at The Caf. The only difference is that Malia Olson is running for Regis Student Body President, and I’ve got the scoop.
I’m approaching this interview through the bias of a good friendship and my sincere belief she brings something brilliant to the table. The table we are chatting at, our conversation is slightly dulled by the roar of the dinner crowd.
“So, Malia, would you rather have teeth for toes or toes for teeth?” She laughs—I’m hilarious.
“Teeth for toes.”
Ah. A woman of culture. Though the interview is supposed to be formal, we ebb and flow through the conversation, mixing in her glimpses of her personality while discussing some ideas Malia has for the future of Regis.
Ms. Olson has a background at Regis as a Violence Prevention Educator. This work not only prevents stalking, intimate partner violence, and sexual assault on campus but also trains athletes as well as classes and facilitates programs like V-Day and Denim Day. When asked how her work as a VPE affects the way she hopes to lead Malia responds, “Since I am a survivor of sexual assault, that really motivates me to make campus feel like a safe space for students. I know it’s not always easy being a student here and that shitty things can happen.” She continues, sharing some questions that are not only incredibly important to her campaign but to her values as a Regis student, “How do we create space for students who’ve had rough experiences to feel safe and feel heard, and give opportunities to tell their stories?”
When asked about reinstating the soft-serve machine from our freshman year—if you weren’t here before The Caf remodel, I’m sorry—Olson laughs, “I could certainly try. [I’m] not sure if RUSGA necessarily has a lot of control over what Bon-Appetit decides to do.” Although this is not the answer I was hoping for, it does lead into a bigger conversation about Regis as a school.
Malia is candid in her admiration for Regis. Of course, we all know the appeal of a smaller school, its prime location between downtown and the breathtaking Rocky Mountains, but Malia emphasizes that it’s a Catholic school. While this is slightly unexpected—both of us are non-practicing—she explains that the Jesuits add that, “Social justice focuses on all of these classes.” She goes on to say, “Even science classes ask how this matters and how it affects us?” Looking through the lens of intersectionality between science and social justice is something Malia is quite comfortable doing, as she is majoring in Bio with an emphasis in Molecular Biology & Genetics with a Psychology minor.
Malia is not afraid to criticize Regis too. Talking about the administration’s handling of the tech hack of Fall 2019 and their response to COVID-19 when it started last March, (can you believe it's been a year!?!) Malia uses the shortcoming of our school to emphasize how valuable what the students are saying is, “There are really powerful instances when students really made a change.” We, as students, were outspoken about our disapproval of their actions and they made changes because of our demands.
Beyond the confines of running for Student Body President, Malia is also a student during the time of COVID-19. These are difficult times. Meeting new people is hard enough, not even considering the restrictions we all must make to stop the spread of the virus. She talks about the idea of “missing out” on the college experience, “Regis sometimes lacks that sense of pride… pride in your school. RUSGA is a really good place to address those things because that's the [students’] money going towards programming… they can go to their Senators, they can go to their representatives and be like, ‘hey I want to do this thing where I hand out utensils’ or whatever.”
I then ask her the most intimidating question of all time: how would you describe yourself? Usually this question brings instant panic, but Malia doesn’t hesitate, “I’m very introverted and I’m a helper.” This intrigued me, as you often don’t see introverts holding a lot of power. I pick her brain and I’m pleasantly surprised when she says, “Any sort of government is built and structured so that it benefits extroverted people. So, when you have somebody holding a leadership position that is an introvert, that is so important because…[you] notice when other introverts are not in the conversation or their voices aren’t being heard.”
As we are wrapping up, I realized that I forgot to ask her some basic questions. So, for the audience: her favorite color is a teal blue, her favorite movie is The Princess Diaries, and her Spotify top artists are Queen, Yolk Lore, and Alexander23. She’s from Crested Butte, Colorado, a lovely little ski town. She has an incredible tea collection and loves matcha. She’s about 5’2, her hair is insanely healthy (genetics). And most importantly she is incredibly genuine and someone I get excited to see every time she walks into the Student Center.
When the interview is over, I press the stop button on the recording app on my phone. We both sigh a breath of relief and I ask her, “You wanna go get some dinner?”
She giggles, “Yeah, I’m starving.”
**RUSGA has pushed all elections to the fall
