There has been a lot of work been done by the departments in charge of promoting diversity on campus. However, there are still misunderstandings and unawareness by many students, including student leaders, about how to respectfully and harmoniously interact with all of the different persons of this campus. Education is the key to break the barriers of stereotypes and ignorance. There are many student organizations that hold lectures about their cultures, religions, ethnicity, etc. As a student government senator at large I will be there to facilitate and help promote events from all student organizations, because all of us from all colors, socio-economic background, or gender… we are all “diversity”. I really dream and I am sure we will set a precedent in this University that will be an example for other universities around the nation.

I think it’s important to recognize as well as to acknowledge the amazing job that our campus police is doing on campus. We are one of the safest campuses in America and that is thanks to the committed, devoted and hard work from our campus police. I will make sure UK’s decision makers would not forget about the importance of maintaining and reinforcing the needs of our campus police so that they can still provide us the safety we have on campus.

UK Alert, the new sign in text message-phone calls alerts has recently started (this semester) and it has started strong reaching more than 60% of the student body, numbers that were not reached before at all. I will make sure that during my time in office we will work with them to expand and reinforce the program in order to reach every single student that attends UK. 

I also want to work closely with student organizations such as VIP (Violence Intervention Prevention Center), Safe Cats, and many more in order to make sure they have the resources they need in order to provide their services to our students. I believe campus safety is an issue that involves all of us, this is why I will invite all the different organizations who work and provide services in this area, to join SGA discussions and meetings where we can reinforce projects already in effect and also develop new ones. 

If the rest of the student body suffers from paying higher tuition, we also do. Higher cost of attendance is an issue that affects us as a whole.  I am committed to defend the interest of the pockets of the students and I will do everything in my power to prevent future tuition increases. We need to make education affordable for all kinds of students. Think about how many bright students are left out because of tuition increase. I don’t want that to happen anymore because we are loosing the future of our state, nation and world. Having the brightest men and women regardless of their economic background is essential for this university to become top 20. In this sense we need to keep it affordable for everyone. As your senator I will make sure we will have constant meetings with UK officials concerning cost of attendance. I will also make sure the voice of students will be heard by decision makers in our university before they take any decision concerning the increase of our tuition.

I believe there is other ways to find funding to our University. Before considering an increase in tuition I will suggest an “Alternative Comprehensive Budget for UK”, where we would seek for funds from other places such as providing consulting services, technical support, etc from our different departments/colleges to the private sector, and the community. Also lobbing for tax deductions in our Capitol will be an alternative, as well as trying to get more donations from alumni that are spread out around the globe. There is many other ways for finding funds for our University, and I strongly believe we should try every single other alternative before even thinking on raising the cost of tuition.

We need participation from the future of this world, if we do not involucrate ourselves with what is happening in our university or in our nation we would never be able to provide the change we would like to see in our university or country. Your ideas are only heard when you participate and when you make sure your voice is heard by decision makers. And in this sense, I do not only encourage students to vote, but also to propose their ideas. Please find me if you have any ideas we can develop within the student government. I am open to any suggestions or opinions from everyone.  The same happens at the national level; we cannot just be spectators of what is happening where we live, we need to really live democracy and participate via voting or being active in a campaign, etc. There are many different ways to express yourself politically, and that is the beauty of democracy. Vote and be sure that you will have a senator that will be there to listen and work with you. I also plan to work closely with political student organizations such as college democrats and republicans in order to create educated debates in our community; events that will educate more our students about the ideas and plans from candidates that are running for certain positions under those parties. I think it is also time for our university to see first class political leaders on our campus. I will actively seek support from the Political Science Department, Patterson School of Diplomacy, Provost Office and many more entities in order to bring world class politicians to our campus. I think this will encourage and promote participation from our students in political issues.

The security and well-being of our students needs is essential for us in Student Government. We will make sure students have the necessary guarantees to live in a peaceful and enjoyable environment. I want to propose the idea of having free legal clinics to advise students in how to deal with landlords if they are not respecting the contract, etc. Also we will provide assistance in case they need to find a sub-lease, or finish a contract.

I will also have meetings with landlords and students in order to work together so we can promote a healthy and friendly relationship between our university neighbors and the students. We want to make sure we create a harmoniously environment for our whole community.

In the 21st century that we live on and in times of regional integration as well as globalization, I think it is unacceptable to lack knowledge about the human differences that exist in our World. Since a very early age of my live I have been exposed to diversity, I have been able to break the myths, ignorance, and stereotypes that we have as human beings. And I believe to be educated in this aspect is more important than to be educated in any other subject. The world is becoming borderless and at this University we have to make sure we understand and learn from each other. 

I think I really understand what diversity is about, and I have proved it as a student leader already, where I have closely worked with many diverse student organizations and where I have been able to demonstrate that I clearly comprehend and share the feelings and ideas of the students at our university. I have met numerous leaders of different diverse organizations and I am willing and exited to meet and work with the ones that I already know and the ones that I would be delighted to meet and work as well in the near future.

I think it’s time for our student government to represent all of the different sectors and groups of our university. We need to build bridges and construct long lasting relationships among these different groups that encompass our university. And that’s what I plan to do as a senator, being the facilitator between different organizations.

I would also like to emphasize that the ticket (Montell-Mills) that I am running under has set diversity as a priority. In this ticket we have students representing organizations ranging from Greek communities to minority communities. I am confident this union and diversity represented in our ticket will make SGA a stronger and truly more representative organization that it has ever been before.

“United we stand….. ….divided we fall”

I strongly believe in environmental sustainability, and believe that as a research university our focus should also be to find solution to the environmental problems of our world. As a university we should be the example for the community. Our great engineering and biological science students and professors I am sure can provide us with good ideas in how to become more environmentally friendly. I plan to propose to the senate once elected to award a grant to the student, faculty or staff member that proposes the most innovative and viable idea on how to reduce energy consumption, recycling, etc on our campus. I want to make every student, staff, and faculty member a participant of the changes we can provide.

I also want to propose the idea of the “biking day”, an idea I would like to share with the mayor of Lexington, in order to stop the use of cars, buses, etc, for a DAY… and instead encourage our citizens at least for one day to walk, jog, or ride their bike to work, classes, etc. This will create a sense of exercising and protecting our environment in our community. I think it will be a fun and new event in our community that we will all enjoy.

My personal view is that ecological paradises as Robison Forest should not be touched in actuality. With the danger of the extinction of many species, contamination of drinking water, mountain slides, and the myriad other problems that deforestation brings, I certainly oppose. I also understand the University has many dues and expenses they have to take care of, but I believe there are other solutions. For example recruiting more international students, opening up a campus in a different region of the world such as Harvard or NYU are doing, let’s bring some more money to our university and also more diversity. I am sure there are other alternatives as well, as the ones I explained in question 3.  Another example to reduce expenses from our University is simply by spending less in unnecessary energy. It is not necessary to have the lights on in POT at 3 am on a Friday night, neither to have the TV of your dorm on while you are no there. I believe little things and solutions like the ones I have just discussed will save us more money than we imagine and therefore we would not feel pressured or obligated to sell natural and state identities, such as our Robison Forest.

I am really exited about the opportunity I will have to serve you as senator. I will not disappoint you, and from DAY 1 I will be there working hard to improve as much as we can in all areas of student government. I will always be open to suggestions, ideas, commentaries, etc. So, please feel free to pass by, say hi, or to tell me that you do not agree with me on a specific topic. I believe only by truly interacting with you all, the students, I will be able to provide the change and hope we want on this campus.

I am very proud of my University, and I love every single aspect of it, but I also think we can make it better. Let’s move forward, let’s move UK up in the ranking for everything, and let’s start doing so in our student government. I will be there to serve YOU. You can be sure you count on me.