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The 2009 Associated Students election may have ended last Thursday, but for A.S. president-elect Joseph Igbineweka, the work has just started. The Orion sat down with Igbineweka Saturday to discuss what he took away from the campaign and his plans for the position. Below are his responses.
How do you feel as the victor? I feel the student voice … they got what they wanted. They looked at my campaign; they looked at what I did … and I'm looking forward to serving the student body.
The election must have been a grueling process. What did you take away from that experience? It was a really tough month for me, in terms of what I did. My campaign was really grassroots … I focused more on really interacting with the students, did a lot of classroom talk, and that's what I think what helped me the most in this campaign. And … pretty much took my time. (It's a) learning experience for me. It's about getting your ideas out there. It's about telling people what you wanted.
What are your immediate plans for office? I'm going to pretty much start working with the city, in terms of getting more lights on campus and more lights off campus. Next week, I'm going to be attending one of the meetings with the Town and Gown Committee; that's the committee that addresses issues affecting the student body.
You've mentioned in the past that campus safety concerns have been a big part of your agenda... Yeah, that's true; that's what we need. I could also tell from your article last week … the one where the student got (attacked) by the train tracks; that's trouble. And what's what we need to focus on. The University Police already have a series of programs about self-defense … and all that stuff; that's something we need to get out there to the students and also utilize all those campus resources. And we will utilize the City Council, the city resources and work together as a group to get stuff done.
During your campaign, one of your main points was restoring our academic image. As the president-elect, what first major steps will you take to accomplish this task? I believe sustainability is the way out. I was at the university alumni association meeting, and I was so delighted that some of the alumni that were being awarded for distinguished awards … some of them were just saying our university is ranked eighth in the world, I mean, that brings joy to me … it chills me. Our name is out there, so sustainability is working. Also, I would like to work about with the other student organizations because I think they hold the key to our future. Even a lot of stuff … model U.N. and all the stuff … get those things out there to let people know we're one of the best in all this stuff.
When you last met with The Orion, you mentioned that riots and negative publicity are major detractors for the university. How do you intend to counter these negative forces? I'm not actually going to counter that. I'm not going to say I'm going to stop all those parties and all those riots because it's really beyond my control. But it's something where we can also … create alternatives.
Have you spoken with the other candidates yet? No hard feelings? (Laughs) I haven't actually … spoken with them yet. But there's someone I really want to talk to … Christian Garcia. He had a great idea … and he ran a good campaign. I respected his campaign.
Your victory came as a surprise for some. To what do you attribute this success? I think what I attributed to my victory was … I went to the student body. I dedicated most of my time to students. I didn't get my attention from getting a lot of money from different organizations. I was on campus here almost every day … and that's what I think was standout about my campaign. I spent less than $400 on my campaign.
What is your opinion of the current A.S.? Do you foresee any major changes during the next year? I want to make A.S. much more accountable to what they say and what they do. It's time to work together. It's time to get stuff done together. It's time to get the student voices to be heard.
Many students are still just getting to know you. What would you say to them that would best describe you, both as a student and an elected representative? That I'm genuine and really friendly. I'm open to everyone and different ideas … 'cause I really want people to get more involved in A.S. in terms of what we can do.
Do you have anything else you'd like to say to students and the campus community? If you see me on campus, say hi to me, man. I will always say hi to people all the time… I love it when people say hi to me...
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