Editor’s Note: This was written in response to the Nexus’ “A Demand for Standards Re: A.S. Senate.“ This article has been edited for grammar to the best of our ability without changing the content of the article.
I appreciate the publicly stated concerns and have the utmost respect for the Daily Nexus news team and the work they produce for students. In Spring 2018, I was elected by 3,665 UCSB undergraduate students — roughly 17.7 percent of the student body and the most votes any single candidate has received in a contested race in the history of ASUCSB elections. These votes were dependent on my previous work as a senator and my commitment to advancing the position and office of the Associated Students Internal Vice President.
The Daily Nexus’ claim that I, the leader of Senate, “fails to take his job seriously” is one that meets me with much disappointment and irritation to what my position actually entails.
Since my election to the position I have reopened communication with many on-campus entities and departments which include — but are not limited to — Academic Senate, the Office of Student Life, Finance & Business Committee, UCen Governance Board, Student Fee Advisory Committee, Library Administration and the Campus Elections Committee. To my knowledge, Internal Vice Presidents in the past arguably have not taken as much effort as I have to physically attend these meetings and represent Associated Students to its fullest capacity on campus.
Furthermore, as the Internal Vice President I also chair the Associated Students Committee on Honoraria, where I have to process every single request for monetary compensation that is submitted by every BCU member, executive office member and entity chair.
In addition to being the representative for student on-campus and university affairs and chairing the Committee on Honoraria, I also serve as the presiding officer and chair of the Associated Students Senate where I manage 24 student senators and at-large student representatives to the three senate standing committees. Doing so, I maintain parliamentary procedure and create the weekly senate agendas as well as review the minutes to every board, commission and unit that operates within the Associated in order to ensure they are par with the Associated Students Legal Code. Lastly, I process 50+ weekly on a day-to-day basis solely on Associated Students, Campus and University Affairs, yet nobody other than myself and the individuals who have held my seat before are aware of them.
As an executive officer of Associated Students, I also have the honor and privilege to work with 10 of the most amazing and driven individuals on campus in my office who are committed to enhancing the well being of students at the university level. This entails yet more meetings and task delegation including but not limited to facilitating the Fall Associated Students Kelly Pearman Executive Fellowship, holding weekly office meetings and executing officewide projects and responsibilities. All of these add to my duties of being the chair of senate, chair of Committee on Honoraria and representing student on-campus committees and boards.
To address the points stated in the editorial,
1) The clause stated the public posting of Office Hours also states under it:
“The Executive Director or designee shall be responsible for posting office hours on the respective door, the A.S. website, posting the respective office hours next to the photo portraits of the ASUCSB elected officials that are placed in the University Center, and for sending out a university-wide email to all students with the names of all elected and appointed ASUCSB officials and their respective office hours by the end of the (3rd) third week of each quarter.”
I assume the Daily Nexus self-nominated myself as the designee or assumed I was the Executive Director of Associated Students which I am not. Past Internal Vice Presidents have also never compiled a master list of senators’ office hours, yet I am doing so this quarter and will do so for the rest of the year as a part of my platform for transparency that I ran on.
2) “They did not establish a Senate bill database until after the Nexus created one last year in order to make every resolution easily accessible to the senators’ constituents.”
Nowhere in the Associated Students legal code says that a Senate bill database needs to be established, and as part of my platform for transparency, I made it upon myself to establish it this year as precedent for future Internal Vice Presidents.
3) “They demanded The Bottom Line (TBL) turn off a livestream at the end of a public Senate meeting, which TBL – and the Nexus– had every right to record.”
Senators during the meeting did not consent to being filmed at the time of the livestream which is completely within their right to privacy, and it was during a time where minutes were not to be recorded.
4) “Their website is still not updated with the names and office hours of this year’s senators, even though it is the end of Week 7.”
Senators and myself do not even have the ability to personally update the Associated Students website, so the Daily Nexus assuming that we do is a complete misunderstanding of what we can do as elected officials, as bureaucratic processes still apply to these student leaders.
Lastly, I am also a first-generation Southeast Asian student on this campus double majoring in a BS in Biological Sciences and a BA in Asian American Studies. I take 16 units a quarter in order to graduate on time so that I can receive two degrees from the prestigious undergraduate institution which is UCSB.
Like all elected officials within Associated Students, I am a student first and leader second. If we need to take time to have a mental-health break or destress from what our lives entail, then we will and that should not be ridiculed.
Just because I take the time to acknowledge that my position is more than just being the chair of the Associated Students Senate but also a main representative of undergraduate interests at the campus and university level does not mean that others can only see my duties as controlling one aspect of the association when it is simply not.
If the Daily Nexus wants to judge the two posts on my twitter account and a private snapchat story then they can, but never will I let an individual, group or entity assume and say that I do not take my job seriously because I understand the privilege and work that holding an executive officer position in Associated Students, let alone being the Internal Vice President, entails.
I truly believe what you’re doing as a board is honorable, meaningful and worthwhile. I want to emphasize that my leadership is student-centered. Moving forward, I hope that Associated Students as a whole and the Daily Nexus can work past personal conflicts in order to work together toward a better UC Santa Barbara campus by both serving and informing the student body in a manner that prioritizes the students who voted me into office and pay into running our student-led press. This can be a learning experience, just as was stated in the article, and in the future I would be more than willing to have my office work with yours in assuring accountability, transparency and ensuring that student leaders are properly recognized for their work.
Sincerely,
Steven Ho
Associated Students Internal Vice President 2018-2019
I didn’t know that tweeting about how much you want to leave your senate meeting (that the student body is paying you $3,000 a quarter to attend) and wishing you had someone to take your place are part of the “responsibilities that entail to my position” that you alluded to. What a joke.
Omg he really started this by telling us his number of votes amanakanzjzmzmxkdnsmsm what kind of “I had the biggest crowd size” TEAS
And the stab at nobility with the first gen SE asian atudent ahaaaaa Ho is rlly doing the MOST…
Wow, this is pathetic. Ever heard of the Brown Act? Y’all consented to be filmed when you took the position. If it wasn’t a closed meeting (not that you weren’t taking minutes, but actually closed) then AS broke the law and is giving a pitifully flimsy defense here. It’s a good thing AS doesn’t do anything important cuz this is really sad.
UC Student Governments are not subject to the Brown Act for SO many reasons
So the AS attorney general is wrong in saying they are subject to the Brown Act? Student government is a joke.
AS is a joke. Student government should be abolished as students deserve much better than this shit show.
Ahh man here goes CU ripping another article in the comment section. Do they grow hair on their balls for every “anonymous” comment that blows up? Good job Steven! Stay strong
“To my knowledge, Internal Vice Presidents in the past arguably have not taken as much effort as I have to physically attend these meetings and represent Associated Students to its fullest capacity on campus.” ……This is B.S. IVP’s in the past have had to serve during parents passing, meningitis outbreaks and a shooting. Sit down, better yet walk over to EOP talk to Aaron Jones and learn about the people who built the organization you take for granted.
These all seem like vague excuses for your poor management as an Internal VP. Yes, maybe your position doesn’t entail posting office hours or fixing the AS website, but don’t be a child and say “it’s not MY job to do it, past officers didn’t do it before!!!”
You’re a LEADER, learn to take charge or face judgement for your lacking thereof. I hope you will uphold your promise to be more transparent and tell your future employers of your inadequacy to take your meetings seriously, otherwise these Daily Nexus articles will.
THIS IS THE MOST SORRY THING I HAVE EVER READ Hahahaha STEVEN HO IS THE MOST PRIVILEGED PERSON AT UCSB. He comes from one of the wealthiest area codes in the State and he’s trying to use the “first gen” card- oh please. Please do not degrade that status, especially for student who truly suffer the disadvantages of being an actual first-generation student. He’s also publicly stated on Twitter that his grandparents immigrated here…….and his parents are engineeers…FIRST GEN WHERE STEVEN HO?!?!!?!! Pathetic!!!! AND A LIAR!!!
Keep up the good work Stevie
*sarcasm intended*
Actually, I’m not petty enough to hide behind anonymous comments to bring my peer down
I applaud you for handling this with professionalism
^^^Thank you Daily Nexus for exposing the immature and embracing behavior executed by campus “leaders.” Professionalism should always be taken seriously, especially in AS since they rep our school, and when it’s not it 100% deserves to be exposed.
Embarrassing*
At least he didn’t try to renovate the newcen on student fees hahahahaha
Yeah you’re definitely soooo comitted to your job when you’re tweeting how you want to get out of meeting
Piss right off with that first gen thing. I’m also first gen, don’t use that card to excuse your laziness.
This is sad. All excuses and no remorse showed. I read the last article and I understand that he tweeted that he didn’t want to be in the meetings he’s paid by students to be in. The only excuse he has for that is he’s stressed and he’s a gay Asian? This whole article is just Mr. Ho posturing himself to be the victim; a victim of scrutiny by the press just doing their job, a victim of his life choices that he seems to have no problem bragging about it anyways, in the this article (like seriously, you’re really… Read more »
“Nowhere in the Associated Students legal code says that a Senate bill database needs to be established, and as part of my platform for transparency, I made it upon myself to establish it this year as precedent for future Internal Vice Presidents.”
Literally there was a database of Senate bills available online a few years ago. It was a precedent that no one failed to uphold. Good job speaking out of your ass and not knowing the history of your position. lol.
Also: “If the Daily Nexus wants to judge the two posts on my twitter account and a private snapchat story then they can, but never will I let an individual, group or entity assume and say that I do not take my job seriously because I understand the privilege and work that holding an executive officer position in Associated Students, let alone being the Internal Vice President, entails.” Yes, they can, and they WILL judge you, because you shouldn’t act like this job is a chore. If you understand the privilege and work that it takes, you wouldn’t joke about… Read more »
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As someone who has had the misfortune of knowing this man for an extended period of time I find his claims regarding struggle to be especially appalling. Steven has by all counts lived a privileged life. Regardless of how true his first gen claim is or is not, he certainly has not experienced any of the hardships many experience and that he attempts to evoke by making that claim. He claims to champion for those who struggle due to queer or poc identities as a result of discrimination but he comes from an area where diversity and lgbtq are celebrated… Read more »
Yep, yeah this about sums up my experience with him as well
Mr. Ho, this poorly written letter really makes it seem that you took this job to add to your resume not because you wanted it. It’s a list of excuses and weak promises to do better.