Lady Dorothy Elli
Hello Wildcats! I am Lady Dorothy Elli, and I am running for the position of Student Body Senator. Currently, I am majoring in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and Pre-Public Health with minors in American Sign Language and Spanish.
As a candidate, I would like to tackle three main platforms that I believe would best enrich campus life at the University of Arizona: strengthening diversity and inclusion through representation, securing health equity on campus through mental health awareness and the Basic Needs Initiative, and guiding first-generation students throughout their undergraduate experience.
For Diversity and Inclusion: The university is a melting pot of diverse cultures and individuals. However, despite the campus being diverse, is it inclusive enough to cater to the needs of the ever-expanding student body? That is the question that I would l would like to answer through the following actions: 1) creating avenues to increase funding for cultural clubs and organizations, 2) promoting diversity and inclusion through representation in the council, and 3) supporting diverse and cultural courses in the curriculum such as the Asian-Pacific American (APA) Studies.
For Health Equity and Mental Health Awareness: As a humanitarian, I believe that everyone has the right to access basic needs, especially university students who are unable to get access to these necessities due to financial struggles and personal circumstances. By reaching out to the student body and informing them of resources under the university’s Basic Needs Initiative, I am able to tackle certain issues on campus such as food insecurity through the Campus Pantry and the lack of mental health awareness through Counseling and Psych Services (CAPS).
For First-Generation Students: Being “first” has been an integral part of my identity as a first-generation immigrant and the first in my family to study in a four-year university abroad. Because of this, I also want to reach out to first-generation students on campus by supporting their growth throughout their entire undergraduate experience. With that said, I hope to introduce first-generation students to programs such as TRiO ASEMS and Basic Needs Initiative. I also want to contribute to their growth by creating an emergency fund for first-generation students as well as DACA and undocumented students who need financial assistance and are currently unable to find ways to support themselves. Aside from this, I plan on creating a resource accessibility plan to better promote programs on campus to incoming freshmen and first-generation students who may not be aware of them.
For YOU, my fellow Wildcats: Your university experience matters, and, in order to provide you with only the best quality undergraduate experience, here are some solutions that I propose: 1) improve academic advising experience on campus by helping the advisors know the students better, 2) expose the students to life after college by offering a support system of alumni, and 3) hold monthly forums for students groups and organizations on campus to voice out their concerns and feedback about university programs and initiatives. Together, let’s work on making these platforms into a reality!