Caitlin Alday is a candidate for ASUCD Senate in the Winter 2011 ASUCD Election running alongside Miguel Espinoza with Fed Up Queers (F.U.Q.).

Caitlin is a 3rd year Womens & Gender Studies major & the current chair of ASUCD's Gender and Sexuality Commission.

Candidate Statement

I’m running for ASUCD Senate because I feel that the needs of students, and particularly students from underrepresented communities, are not being met by ASUCD. I want to create a more informed and equitable environment within ASUCD where students feel validated and are encouraged to be active participants in their own university. I currently serve as the chair of ASUCD’s Gender & Sexualities Commission, which entails working with ASUCD, attending senate meetings, collaborating with different groups on campus, and writing legislation, which will increase my effectiveness as a senator. I have experience getting projects completed and have an awareness of how to go about doing that within ASUCD. In addition, I have experience working with the various centers on campus as well as outreaching to different student groups, which is crucial to being a senator.

AWARENESS & EDUCATION ABOUT THE CHANGE IN 2012 ADMISSIONS POLICIES I aim to bring education and awareness about the changes in the UC’s 2012 admissions policies to communities outside of our immediate campus—directly to those who will be impacted the most. The change in the UC admissions policy affects incoming first years beginning in 2012 and ultimately will decrease the accessibility of higher education to students, particularly students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. To counteract this policy’s effects, I plan to educate prospective students about this policy through outreaching to youth conferences on campus as well as collaborating with tutoring programs facilitated by UC Davis students.

MORE ACCESSIBLE COUNSELING & MAJOR ADVISING As a result of the cumulative 40% increase in UC tuition in the past year, more students are working in addition to taking classes, which leaves little time in many students’ days to meet with advisors during regularly scheduled office hours. To mitigate students’ difficulties coping with tuition increases and departmental budget cuts, I want to increase access to peer counselors and advisors through providing alternative advising office hours. Not only is advising crucial for student’s academic success but it is an invaluable tool for student retention within the university, which is more important than ever given the rise of disenrollment. Meeting student’s academic needs ought to be a top priority for ASUCD & the administration; providing accessible counseling and advising is a way to begin ensuring that.

GENDER-NEUTRAL BATHROOMS As a senator, I will create more gender-neutral bathrooms on campus, which provide safer spaces for students of all genders as well as nursing parents and persons who need assistance using restrooms. In traditional gender-binary bathrooms, students are forced to choose between male or female restrooms when many students don’t identify as either gender. Because of this, students can face harassment and/or threats to their safety because of their gender or perceived gender identity. I plan to lobby the administration to provide more gender-neutral bathrooms in widely used buildings such as the Memorial Union as well as ensure that gender-neutral restrooms are placed in buildings planned in the future. Both UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley campuses have acknowledged the need for gender-neutral bathrooms and have begun a serious effort to meet that need. Students’ safety is integral to any university and providing more gender-neutral bathrooms on UC Davis’ campus is an important part of ensuring that safety.

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