UnsafeU is endorsing two tickets this year: the Nestel Ticket and the Wojciechowski Ticket. The Nestel Ticket received the highest score (81%), with the Wojciechowski Ticket following closely behind at 74%. Overall, 57.1% of UnsafeU’s members and partners indicated that they would vote for the Wojciechowski Ticket. 42.9% said they would vote for the Nestel Ticket. No members or partners voted in support of the Paul Ticket or Sanchez Ticket. Given the split between votes and scores and the strong policy suggestions generated, we have decided to issue a double endorsement to both the Nestel and Wojciechowski tickets this year.
Overview of All Tickets:
The Nestel Ticket had incredibly detailed responses to all areas of questions and showed deep institutional awareness in many of these areas. The Nestel Ticket also received the highest overall score of the group, earning an 81%. No area of analysis dipped below a 3/5 score. Some areas where the Nestel Ticket excelled include student caregiver support, accessibility, and policing. The weaker areas for this ticket include transportation, racial justice + equity, transparency, and accountability.
The Wojciechowski Ticket particularly stood out when looking at the specificity of policy planning and feasibility of policy implementation. The areas where this ticket particularly excelled included environmental justice, policing, mental health, and accountability. This ticket did receive weak scores, below a 3, in the areas of accountability and lighting. One UnsafeU member found their statement that they “will only work with UUPD if absolutely necessary” to be particularly compelling, as it indicates that their administration would want to invest in and exhaust all other options.
While the Sanchez Ticket had some bright spots in areas like accountability, transportation, and lighting, they had significant deficits in policy planning for accessibility, racial justice, and LGBTQIA+ issues. Accountability is the only area in which they scored a 4/5 or above.
Finally, we have significant concerns about the answers provided by the Paul Ticket in almost all areas. In no category did this ticket score a 4 or higher. Additionally, they did not break a 2/5 in three categories: LGBTQIA+ issues, environmental justice, and policing. In the latter two categories, they chose to entirely disengage from discussing policy on these issues, choosing to copy and paste the following answer:
Our campaign initiatives do not reflect nor promote any social justice platform. We want to be an open forum style of leadership and govern in the space. Where everyone has an equal voice on their campus to agree or to disagree with one another. Where speakers, whether political or business focused or academic that we provide a space where those who want to speak can do so. An that the other side will show equal amounts of respect because they did when the roles were reversed. Let’s lead with compassion, grace, humility, and sincerity.
If the Paul Ticket advances, and particularly if they win the election, we worry about the safety and well-being of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, low-income, and first-generation students on campus. We would like to see a significant reflection and revision of their positions and policies. Committing to a policy of providing equal platforms, space, and legitimacy to racist, homophobic, xenophobic, or otherwise discriminatory behaviors, groups, or people will make the University of Utah actively less safe for vulnerable student populations. This is, frankly, an unacceptable position in our collective opinion.
The Nestel Ticket
Highlights:
- Supports adding online appointment booking options.
- Supports alternative mental health provider services.
- Will advocate for ongoing data collection for campus climate perceptions that will be analyzed by student leaders.
- Will push for hiring specialized therapists for the Counseling Center that understand the dynamics of veteran students and students with disabilities.
- Will promote streamlining the process for accommodations and revise processes for mental health accommodations with the help of student input.
- Will work on providing scholarships, waivers, or any other sort of financial support for students who have to file for accommodations.
- Will work to route more funding to the Center for Disability and Access to encourage more staff positions and provision of accessibility resources to students (i.e. sign language interpreters).
- Will advocate for more lactation stations across campus to eventually make them available in every building.
- Will increase availability of areas on campus where student parents can student with play areas/cribs for children to play and sleep so students can effectively study on campus.
- Will advocate for providing family counseling and child counseling for parents and their children on campus to improve the mental health of students’ families.
- Will continue partnership with Utah Clean Energy in their efforts to bring more sustainable lighting to the University.
- Will advocate for including crime data in a format that is easy to understand by all students and community members.
Areas for Growth:
- Although this ticket has been incredibly thorough with their discussion of awareness and available resources for several issues, their policy ideas lack specificity in many areas.
- The policy suggestions for accountability are very vague and may be overly optimistic about the level of cooperation that upper level of administration will willingly provide to student leadership.
- While gathering more frequent data as part of the transparency platform is useful, the Unviersity of Utah has consistently buried this data and also misrepresented the implications of data to the general public and student body. Most recently, this has been done with both the Clerly Act reporting and Campus Climate surveys using 2019 data. We would like to see a detailed plan to circumvent these roadblocks.
The Wojciechowski Ticket
Highlights:
- Supports expansion of SafeRide, more campus buses, and more routes
- Advocates for more U parking lots and more affordable parking
- Would work to add text-based support lines for students for mental health and IPV services
- Advocates for funding to the IPV legal clinic and support its beginning operations
- Supports the Lauren McCluskey foundation and take Lauren’s Promise
- Would promote sexual assault training and mandatory reporting training for faculty
- Would work to have contact information for IPV and sexual assault resources plastered across campus (websites, social media handles, numbers — and smaller wait times)
- Would support installation of sustainably powered lighting in dark spots on campus including parking lots and lab areas
- Would work to decrease wait times on calls and counseling services, especially since these are conducted during COVID-19 and we are in a mental health crisis
- Will work to include ASL interpretation for counseling intakes and other meetings or speech to text software
- Advocates for an online portal and case management system for students to apply for services and easily access mental health services and academic accommodations.
- Will support including a prescription benefit on the student health insurance plan
- Advocates for peer support groups for students with various mental health needs, including support for substance addiction.
- Will ensure ASUU student leaders are accommodated and will implement wellness evaluations with their supervisors. Specifically, this will focus on providing mental health awareness training to the advisors that supervise these roles so that they are aware of who they are working with.
- Will regularly update websites of university leaders’ news and announcements (of all movements in projects), especially from the President’s office, senior vice presidents, vice presidents, Academic Senate, Board of Regents, and Board of Trustees, President’s -Leadership Council, and Cabinet
- Will include student representatives in the Independent Review Committee
- Actively supports the JR 2 Resolution in Support of Black Students at the University of Utah and gradually adopt its recommendations
- Will work to have each department create an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Plan and faculty and student committees to review the plan (advisory councils)
- Will work to create and support a more immersive experience for incoming BIPOC students to find connections, resources, and financial aid sources during orientation, that includes focus groups of student’s choosing and a summer bridge program.
- Supports paid, work-based learning opportunities geared towards professional development.
- Will push to allow diversity organizations and offices to have academic accommodation privileges, especially for low-income students
- Will ensure that ASUU members are trained on inclusive language and events.
- Will give LGBTQIA+ students a seat at the table to share their experiences and work to create change, we want to ensure that these students are being heard in student government and holding positions.
- Will advocate for continued access to testing, more PPE, and vaccinations for high-risk and disabled students and staff.
- Creates an ASUU Director of Accessibility to oversee accessibility initiatives at the U
- Advocates for the University to modify their contract with Zoom to include automatic closed captioning
- Advocates for a requirement that all classes, meetings, and other university events have closed captioning
- Supports ASUU boards in creating accessible events and marketing by creating a list of guidelines recommended by students and the Center for Disability and Access.
- Educate and spread awareness of the importance of accessibility on campus in events, marketing, etc.
- Provide more access to technology for disabled students speech-to-text software
- Would create clearly defined and prominently advertised policy for grievance procedures should a student feel that their rights have been violated
- Would work to created a more immersive experience for incoming disabled students to find connections, resources, and financial aid sources during orientation, that includes focus groups of student’s choosing and a summer bridge program
- Want more resources for disability services including note-taking services, priority class registration, extensions for drop/withdrawal deadlines for classes, and course substitutions
- Commit to recruiting and hiring student parents to ASUU positions to ensure that they are included in decisions made regarding childcare funding and actively have a voice in the executive branch
- Plan to communicate with faculty and professors to implement flexibility to student caregivers
- Will work to academic accommodation services for student caregivers
- Will advocate for extension of drop/withdrawal deadlines for classes for student caregivers.
- Will push investing in green buildings and practices: implementation of gray water systems, solar panels, and faculty-led initiatives to cut down on water or electricity usage.
- Advocates for cutting funds and ties from companies that dispute or deny climate change as well as fossil fuel divestment
- Will heavily emphasize community-based alternatives to policing and will only work with UUPD if absolutely necessary, making it clear that we stand with the student throughout the entire process and will provide any support needed.
Areas for Growth:
- SB 134 already requires all RSOs to do Bystander Intervention training. Student Leadership and Involvement and Student Affairs have failed to implement this with fidelity and have deprioritized creating effective mechanisms to deliver this training this in their leadership.
- Across the survey responses, answers were far less detailed from other platforms in many areas, which indicates that they may have a slightly less comprehensive knowledge of the university infrastructure, intiatives, and policy advocacy routes.
The Sanchez Ticket
Highlights:
- Would work to implement a safety board within the ASUU executive branch.
- Supports program evaluation of SafeRide and extension of operating hours.
- Advocates for higher accountability for perpetrators of IPV and sexual violence.
- Supports increase lighting installation across campus.
- Would like to create crisis lines to handle a broader array of mental health issues.
- Would create a committee that works directly with Center for Disability Access and would help support the vulnerable and disabled students.
- Would advocate for disabled and vulnerable students to receive priority access to University allocations of vaccinations.
- Supports improving the explanation of FAFSA to increase accessability for students.
- Supports more scholarship creation.
- Would support more financial resoures for student caretakers out of the ASUU budget.
- Supports a carbon neutral campus.
- Supports creating opportunities for investment in renewable and sustainable resoures through ETFs and MFs.
Areas for Growth:
- There are is little detail given in responses that indicate how indicated policy ideas could be implemented. Compared to the Nestel and Wojciechowski tickets’ level of detail on awareness and policy, the Sanchez ticket seems very vague and general.
- While this platform seems to understand many of the improvements needed in these topic areas, there is a lack of specificity in how they will improve these issues — specifically in regard to LGBTQIA+ issues and racial equity.
The Paul Ticket
Highlights:
- Supports a student oversight committee for campus safety, similar to a Civilian Police Accountability Review Board.
- Supports installation of more street lamps and other lighting fixtures.
- Would like to create a student oversight committee to oversee all mental health initiatives.
- Believes disabled and vulnerable students should not be required to participate in anything in person until they are capable or comfortable.
- Would like more financial support for student caregivers.
Areas for Growth:
- The Paul Ticket’s return to campus plan does not include any practical thought behind or protections for graduate students who will be forced to TA increased levels of in-person classes. Graduate students account for a high amount of labor in introductory and intermediate level courses. Forcing an increase of in-person course offerings endangers the life and health of graduate students who will be forced to staff these classes.
- Social justice is not a partisan or political issue — it is a human rights and equity issue. Ensuring that each student feels safe on campus requires understanding who does and does not hold power on this campus and the risks and harm for those with the least amount of access to power.
- Their transportation platform is highly unlikely to be implemented. The scale of Uber and Lyft services that they discuss would run into the hundreds of thousands to operate for all students. There is no current fund that could absorb this cost and they offer no alternative structure for funding in their survey responses or campaign materials. Additionally, this would require a state-level bid contract to implement due to the cost and scale of service and would increase the emissions level on campus, contributing to unsafe levels of air quality near the campus. Finally, many women and BIPOC students feel less safe using Uber/Lyft for transportation when compared to more publicly operated and populous transportation options.
- The only financial platform is allowing students to vote on all fee increases, which is the existing policy under both USHE and the University of Utah as of July 1, 2021.
- The Paul Ticket supports more policing on campus but refused to explain how they would balance concerns of students who do not feel safe with police presences (especially LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and neurodivergent students) with this policy. This response indicates to us that there will be little to no work done on reducing violence and investing in alternatives to policing if this administration is elected. This would make campus signficantly less safe for students, especially the most vulnerable.
