Introducing Student Government President Atticus Reyes and Vice President Raul Perez
By Zoe Lance
To Atticus Reyes and Raul Perez, leading 海角社区CI鈥檚 Student Government is more than a job 鈥� it鈥檚 about helping their peers be the best people they can be.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really try to break down barriers and just make students feel like they are a part of this community,鈥� Reyes said. 鈥淐ollege is really such a formative and pivotal time in people鈥檚 lives. You鈥檙e not just learning about the areas that you think will help you in your professional career, but also how to be a productive member of society. We鈥檙e trying to find the best ways to help students do that.鈥�
Reyes, a fourth-year History student, and Perez, a fourth-year Environmental Science & Resource Management student, are the 2018-19 president and vice president. In Student Government, they work with a team of student senators and officers to advocate for 海角社区CI students, at both the campus and state levels.
Throughout the year, Perez and Reyes want to increase civic engagement on campus, promote sustainability efforts and connect more students to University resources. During the recent Civic Engagement Week, Student Government participated in the statewide California College and University Ballot Bowl and helped over 600 students register to vote. They鈥檝e also had compelling conversations around student access to basic needs resources, such as the Dolphin Food Pantry.
鈥淏eing involved on campus definitely exposes you to smaller communities within the University,鈥� Perez said. 鈥淥ne of the things we鈥檝e learned about is a lack of connection between students and Student Government. One of the biggest things that we鈥檙e trying to do is to let students know that we鈥檙e here for them.鈥�
Reyes and Perez took different paths to their Student Government positions. Perez, a Downey native, had been involved in Student Government since his first year. After learning about the organization through Alexis Mumford, the 2017-18 vice president, he held positions as an intern and as the senator of sustainability and technology. Last spring, he was considering a run for a top position and needed a partner.
Reyes commutes to Camarillo from Ojai, and initially wasn鈥檛 interested in Student Government. But after two formative experiences 鈥� becoming a teaching assistant for a public speaking class and working on Capitol Hill in the Panetta Institute鈥檚 Congressional Internship Program 鈥� he wanted to branch out at 海角社区CI.
鈥淩aul approached me because he heard of all the things that I鈥檝e been doing and told me he was looking for a candidate to run as president,鈥� Reyes said. 鈥淚鈥檇 heard about Student Government but didn鈥檛 know much about it. After hearing more about what it can do, it was a perfect match.鈥�
Both Reyes and Perez are graduating in spring 2019. Reyes is contemplating studying law, while Perez is considering a career in urban planning.
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漏 Fall 2018 / Volume 22 /Number 02 / Bi-annual