Student Welfare commissioner candidate Janet Chiang is clearly
the stronger of the two candidates running for the position.
Chiang joined the commission as a staff member four years ago
and has served in a variety of leadership positions within it. This
year she is serving as the SWC chief of staff, a position that
oversees more than 100 workers, including directors, staff members
and volunteers.
Chiang has expressed a vision for the commission that builds
upon existing programs in an evolutionary way. Next year she hopes
to improve student welfare projects and events by increasing the
amount of co-programming with other USAC offices and groups.
Specifically, Chiang wants to create a UCLA Health Club and
extend the reach of philanthropic events like Roll-AIDS and UCLA
Run/Walk. She intends to lead committees, such as the Health,
Nutrition and Fitness Committees, which would serve as hubs for
co-programming activities.
Chiang says that the SWC has gone through significant changes in
the last four years, but notes that she has been present to see
which changes work and which are less successful. This experience
will allow her to carefully guide the commission toward programs
and policies that are effective and directly impact students.
Contrary to candidate Arvin Abraham’s claims, Chiang has
confirmed that the SWC does not have over $20,000 budget surplus
this year. Although the SWC received a boost to its funding
following a fee referendum, the funding is allocated for five major
programs this quarter. According to Chiang, she has even worked to
find corporate sponsors for many of the upcoming events because the
commission may fall short of its budget.
Abraham quit his job with the SWC early in the year, which makes
us doubtful of his ability to lead the entire commission.
In addition to performing her duties as SWC commissioner, Chiang
is willing to engage with issues that relate to general
Undergraduate Student Association Council priorities.
Chiang says she holds independent political views and would vote
on political issues in a manner consistent with both her own ideas
and her perception of the student body’s opinion. This is a
good compromise, especially for the leader of a traditionally
non-political office.
Chiang is an experienced member of the SWC staff and has earned
the right to lead the commission next year.