Editor’s note: With spring UCSU elections scheduled for April 6—10, the CU Independent is giving students a closer look at just what the University of Colorado Student Union is and what it does for students. The final piece in this series will give readers a better picture of how their student government operates by taking them inside the daily lives of UCSU officials.
The main positions in UCSU are tri-executives, representatives-at-large and directors. Each has specific responsibilities in the student union, helping to keep the CU budget and government structure afloat.
The current tri-executives are Victoria Garcia, a senior communication major and Ryan Biehle and Dustin Farivar, both senior political science majors.
The tri-executives collectively as the “presidents” of the student body. They are in charge of introducing legislation, finalizing the budget and electing the executive staff.
“A day in the life of the tri-executive would be many, many, many meetings,” Garcia said. “That’s essentially it. You’re meeting with the administration, cost center directors [and] staff members. You’re meeting with people who want to meet with you.”
The meetings usually are regarding current initiatives and actions that require a student voice, according to Garcia.
“You’re in constant communication with a lot of different people,” Garcia said.
Each tri-executive focuses on certain cost centers for UCSU. Garcia is in charge the UMC while Biehle works specifically with Wardenburg Health Center and Farivar works with the Rec Center.
“Well, the big three—each tri-executive has one of them—we meet with those directors typically bi-weekly, and we usually see them weekly in various capacities,” Garcia said. “[At the meetings] we’re talking about what’s going on, what issues are faced, what are the boards talking about and what are opportunities for improvement, so we’re working at the same level as the director essentially to shape these decisions.”
There are directors and liaisons that work with UCSU, connecting specific communities to the student government and bringing their needs to the table.
“They work on projects and set goals collaboratively, and they’re particularly working on different projects and initiatives,” Garcia said.
There are directors and liaisons for the following communities and areas of campus: Sustainability, Communications and Public Relations, Diversity Affairs, Finance, Health and Safety, Homecoming, Legislative Affairs, Neighborhood/City Relations, vice chancellor for Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Graduate and Professional Studies, Student Groups, the Greek community, vice chancellor for Administration, Student Group Funding Board and Athletics.
Eva Hueber, director of Neighborhood/City Relations and senior psychology major, explained the duties of her position via e-mail.
“I work to find ways for students to get more involved in the community, and I try to find ways for both the city and students to benefit from events or programs,” Hueber said.
Hueber’s effort to build a 24-hour student center on University Hill is an example of her work as a director at UCSU.
“I wrote a proposal to build a 24-hour student center on the Hill that would benefit businesses and students alike,” Hueber said. “I am also hosting (with City Manager’s Advisory Committee of Students) a discussion where students can provide their input on University Hill redevelopment, which will allow students to be involved and also help the city in forming these plans.”
Directors meet weekly with other directors at staff meetings, as well as with tri-executives to monitor progress and present ideas to UCSU.
“I generally have meetings scheduled during the times I’m not in class,” Hueber said. “I do a lot of work like writing proposals, presentations and surveys.”
The directors and liaisons are hired by the tri-executives and approved through Legislative Council, according to Garcia.
In addition to tri-executives, directors, representatives-at-large and liaisons are chairs that serve on the Legislative Council of UCSU.
As the Student Group Finance Board chair for UCSU, Sepideh Mohseni, a junior integrative physiology major, said she is responsible for coordinating the needs of many student groups.
“Properly communicating with student groups, making sure that every student group is available and making sure their needs are being met,” Mohseni said. “Setting up a schedule for hearing times and allocations and making sure everything is approved by legislative council are kind of my responsibilities.”
A day in the life of a chair is “actually quite a bit of work,” according to Mohseni.
“[It includes] a lot of e-mails, so communicating directly with student groups on a daily basis, approving the transfer of funds, setting up a schedule for the whole week and making sure I adhere to that schedule is what I do every day,” Mohseni said. “I would say it’s really busy especially during times of hearings and allocations. We work well over 40 hours [a week]. It’s very, very busy.”
Regardless of the time commitment and heavy responsibilities, Mohseni says she recognizes the value of such an experience.
“You learn how you can directly impact students, and you have the opportunity to do that through these positions, to make the direct change and to make sure that everyone’s needs are being met,” Mohseni said.
Garcia said UCSU is like no other experience she’s had.
“It’s a whole other world in itself, that’s definitely true,” Garcia said.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Sara Kassabian at Sara.kassabian@colorado.edu.
