2023-24 UC Santa Barbara Associated Students Student Advocate General Nathan Lee spoke with the Nexus about his goals for the upcoming school year and the progress he has made over summer.

As the advocate for the student body, Lee expressed his openness to hearing from anyone who may need assistance addressing their concerns on campus. Mark Alfred / Daily Nexus

After holding the position of Off-Campus Senator last year, fourth-year economics and history double major Nathan Lee stepped into the role of Student Advocate General (S.A.G.) with plans to rebuild the office from the ground up, starting by hiring underclassmen to train and prepare for their roles.

“There are only two members from the previous S.A.G. office committed to continue,” Lee said. “I want to see more freshmen and sophomores apply so we can hopefully have talent that remains with us … so they can be really ready not only this year but for the year afterwards.”

Lee also is looking to improve various student campus resources, including events.ucsb.edu — an online space for students to view all school events in one place.

“It’s supposed to contain most of the official events, either Associated Students related, Arts & Lectures, [Student Engagement & Leadership] S.E.A.L. organizations, department events,” Lee said. “It was supposed to include everything, a one-stop-shop for all on campus events. Maybe even some off campus events.”

The website would create a centralized, online location for advertising upcoming campus events and general campus resources. The office is aiming to develop the website in the fall, test it in the winter and have it fully operational by spring.

Lee will also work with the Office of Student Conduct this year in his pursuit to take a restorative justice approach in non-academic matters. One specific issue Lee addressed is the uncertainty international students can face.

“International students, they’re always threatened by whether their visa is going to be revoked when they get referred to the Student Conduct Office,” Lee said. “I have an experience with someone who is an international student, their housing contract was going to get revoked when they committed some kind of misunderstanding. There is constantly that anxiety of whether I can stay in the U.S. anymore. That’s the sort of thing I really want to work more on.”

The S.A.G. office is currently in the early stages of communication with the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor to discuss the unit cap for pass two, creating a more thorough online course catalog and expanding career services..

As the advocate for the student body, Lee expressed his openness to hearing from anyone who may need assistance addressing their concerns on campus.

“Reach out to me if there is anything you are in need of. Either general ideas about making A.S. better, whether there are issues where you feel you’re being mistreated by campus administration or anything of that nature. I am here to help you. I am very much open for concerns and for opinions.”

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Anushka Ghosh Dastidar
Anushka Ghosh Dastidar (she/her) is the Lead News Editor for the 2024-25 school year. Previously, Ghosh Dastidar was the Community Outreach News Editor for the 2023-24 school year and the Assistant News Editor for the 2022-2023 school year. She can be reached at anushkagd@dailynexus.com or news@dailynexus.com.