CUSG’s new tri-executives, Unity is the second all female leading board since 1985
The new Tri-Executives referred to as Unity is the second all girls board to lead CU since 1985. The members of this board are Junior Lucie Nguyen, Junior Chloe Nicklas and Senior Rachel Hill
“Power does not come to women easily in our society so it is greatly appreciated that the students uplifted us into this role” Nicklas said.
Tri-Executives are heads of the Executive Branch of CU’s student government (CUSG). There are three branches in CUSG: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. Each branch has their own role in helping CU run such as revising CUSG policies, planning and approving events on campus. CUSG’s budget is around $25 million which they allocate to different cost centers on campus such as the University Memorial Center and Recreational Center, among others.
Nguyen says her goals for next year is to work on CU’s safety plan and repair how the university handles sexual assault cases. She believes that CU needs to implement promoting restorative initiatives for sexual misconduct (PRISM). Prism is, “a program that offers students an alternative pathway to address situations revolving around sexual misconduct” Nguygen said.
Those alternative pathways would be through restorative justice. The purpose of this program is to hold assaulters accountable for their actions and provide justice for the survivors by taking action.
Nguyen also wants to work with the school in order to promote an emergency safety data sheet. This sheet would create a mandatory protocol for every building at CU to follow in case of an emergency event. The goal of this sheet is to keep students and faculty safer and more prepared during emergency events. She notes that there may be more efficient or effective ways of implementing a safety plan and is open to start a discussion.
“I would still love to sit down and talk to all of the people who are involved in CU safety, because it might not be the best solution…” Nguyen said. “I’m open to ideas and just anything that they have to suggest to make CU a safer place for students. I would love to be a part of that conversation and advocate as a student.”
Nicklas’ goals for next year are centered around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and making CU a more affordable place for students. She recognizes that living in Boulder creates financial barriers for students and the cost of living here increases annually.
“I hope to influence and inform Boulder legislative councils of the barriers this puts on students and hopefully start the conversation of expanding the Affordable Housing Program in Boulder to become an option for students,” Nicklas said.
Nicklas plans to work with programs at CU to make luxuries such as studying abroad more affordable and provide more online options for students. While CUSG does not fund study abroad programs, Nicklas intends to start a conversation with the Study Abroad Finances Administration to make the process of going abroad more affordable and accessible for all students. Her first request would be to strike all application fees.
“All students of all backgrounds should be able to participate in programs like study abroad. I know that a lot of students dream of studying abroad like I have, but barriers make the experience mostly unattainable,” Nicklas said.
In addition, Nicklas wants to work with CU professors to provide more online options. If every professor recorded their lectures then this would accommodate students who are facing unforeseen circumstances.
“If a student needs to care for a family member at home, they may continue their studies virtually. This would create accessibility for students of all circumstances and backgrounds, which fosters a more inclusive community,” Nicklas said.
The transition into this position came with high responsibilities politically, socially and economically. This power can come with unexpected responses from the students. Nguyen shared her struggles and the effects negative commentary and hate on social media had on her.
“I would like to think that it doesn’t impact me as much as it does, but you know, we’re human and seeing some of my peers not support me and say some of the harshest things really got to me because it was like at the end of the day, we’re all students were all humans,” Nguyen said.
She further expresses that if any CU student is struggling mentally or just needs someone to talk to they should reach out to the board.
“You don’t have to come to us with ideas that you want to see happen at CU, you can come because you’re a student and we’re here to serve students [or] you just want to talk” Nguygen said.
Hills’ goals are focused around raising enough money in order to accomplish each goal they have set out to make.
“Our biggest goals this year revolve around improving the funding system for student organizations, making CU programs and the Boulder community more accessible, and increasing safety on campus by combating sexual misconduct and gun violence,” Hill said.
While Unity holds a lot of responsibilities and power to make change in the CU community, Nguyen is confident that this board can do it. The moment that sparked this realization was during election time. Nguyen used to be a CU ambassador and while Unity was taking pictures for their campaign, she decided to give them a tour of Old Main. While she was reciting all of the history about Old Main, she noticed that Hill and Nicklas were actively listening and engaged in what she had to say.
“What really hit me was that they listened to me. They didn’t ignore me… [they are] gonna make change because of their leadership skills. That’s probably my favorite memory. Because in that moment, it really hit me that we could do it. We could make change and we could truly impact CU in a way that’s never been seen before” Nguyen said.
