Abraham Galvan, a third year Literature major, was appointed as Associated Students of UC San Diego (ASUCSD) Vice President of Campus Affairs on February 7, following the resignation announcement of former VP of Campus Affairs Matthew Arrollado last month.
As VP of Campus Affairs, Galvan will be responsible for ASUCSD internal development, transitions, publicity, and campus-wide appointments. He wants to prioritize interaction with the student body, emphasize assistance for AS Senators, and strengthen relations with UCSD administration.
“A position like this would be able to communicate concerns and students’ voices across university areas, as well as bridging gaps between and creating collaboration between different branches of UCSD, for example, partnering with Residential Life and the Diversity Office to better serve our students,” said Galvan.
Galvan previously served as the Associate Vice President of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion where he worked on UCSD’s 5 Year Plan For Inclusive Excellence and advocated for the needs of students with disabilities.
The appointment process includes an ASUCSD screening committee where, ultimately, the president submits the nominee for approval by the ASUCSD Senate. Traditionally, the selection process included a public forum, but the executive appointment rules were changed after the Vice President of External Affairs resigned last year.
“I really wanted to follow are [sic] the correct procedures to fill this position as soon as possible to continue doing work for the student body as I have been overwhelmed with both the roles and responsibilities of the Office of Campus Affairs and the Office of the President,” said President Lesly Figueroa.
In regards to the number of ASUCSD resignations this year, six in total, Figueroa notes that over the past few years several factors have led to resignations, such as academics and burnout.
“I am hoping that if we can establish rules for AS Senators that are reasonable and impactful then we could be moving into more intentional and efficient modes of campus representation that do not lead to burnout of student leaders.”
Ethan Coston is a staff writer for The Triton.