Undergraduate Student Government presidential candidate Simon Wu ’17 said he seeks to improve communication and efficiency in USG through an artist and designer’s perspective.
“I come from a very different background of working in organizations than people who are studying policy,” he said. “I came into USG as chief designer, which has been very much a position of communications and marketing and dealing with the external part of USG, and I think that has really influenced the way I’ve been thinking of USG and how it’s perceived by the student body.”
He noted that his experiences as chief designer and social chair prepared him to work on making USG more communicative, explaining that such experiences enabled him to look more closely at the communications side of USG.
Wu added that it is important to have constant streams of communication and constant updates in order to make people feel as though they are being heard and to show them that things are being done.
“I think that a lot of people feel that to some extent, USG doesn’t always address their concerns, and I think a way to resolve that is both working on increasing channels of communications, and making those forms of communication more palatable,” he said.
Wu said he wants to make communication as convenient as possible by having several options for students to voice their concerns, such as surveys, a what-to-fix program and going door-to-door asking what concerns people may have. He noted that it is important to create several different outlets so people at any end of the spectrum feel comfortable voicing their opinion.
One of these outlets would be a forum called WTF, inspired by a similar website used by Columbia’s undergraduate student government, Wu said. Wu explained that WTF stands for What To Fix, and it would be a Reddit-style online forum where students can post concerns to whichUSG could respond directly.
“It works the same way Reddit does where you can up-vote and down-vote, and things will rise and fall depending on how much interest there is to it,” Wu said, noting that he felt a website like this would create a more direct channel of communication between students and USG.
Another project he is working on, he said, is increasing the student activities fund. He explained that in doing so, USG could expand Lawnparties to have more diversity in activities during the day, as well as financially support more of the student groups on campus.
He noted that he is currently working on a task force with USG president Ella Cheng ’16, adding that the student activities fund has not been reassessed since 2007 or 2008. He also noted that the number of student groups on campus has nearly tripled and the costs of hiring artists to play at Lawnparties have also increased exponentially.
In addition, Wu noted that he would like to expand the co-op and independent options. There is currently a year and half to two-year wait list to join a co-op, Wu explained, so he aims to reassess ways USG can lend more support to these structures.
Lastly, Wu said that he would like to work on fostering intercultural and inter-identity dialogues. He explained that he wants to make more outlets for discussion, such as film series or dinner discussion series, in order for people to have more places for dialogue.
Aileen Huang ’17, who has been on the social committee for the past two years, said that she endorses Wu as an organized, efficient and charismatic leader.
“Before, social committee was just about getting Lawnparties, but under Simon we’ve really expanded what we do on campus,” she said.
Veronica Edwards ’17 also said that she endorses Wu’s campaign, noting his ability to gauge the student body’s sentiment.
“I feel like he would know the campus really well, in terms of what students want for their next huge event or what we need to change,” she said.
Nabil Shaikh ’17 added that Wu’s defining trait is his genuineness, endorsing him as a good advocate for students.
“He’s kind of an artistically minded person, rather than a strictly policy minded person, yet he still knows how to get things done and he knows how to navigate the system,” he said.
In addition to his positions with USG, Wu is a residential college adviser in Forbes College and is involved with the Pace Center for Civic Engagement, having led a breakout trip in fall 2014. Wu is an art history major from Philadelphia, Penn., pursuing a certificate in visual arts.
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