President: Nayali Broadway

Later this year, Broadway will be faced with her “biggest responsibility” as president — creating the A.S. budget for next year. Maddy Fangio / Daily Nexus
Associated Students president and third-year political science and sociology double major Nayali Broadway spent fall quarter training her staff, relaying student concerns to administration and working towards long-term projects, including a campus professional development opportunity.
Since she hired her entire office over the summer, Broadway said she mainly dedicated fall quarter to trainings and presentations about Associated Students (A.S.) functions and project planning. This quarter, Broadway anticipates her staff organizing more programming than the last.
“Last quarter, many people noticed that we didn’t push out too many events for my office,” Broadway said. “But we also hired many first years or people who are new to A.S. just to give them that, first[hand] experience and knowledge and kind of figuring out the things that they want to do. So last quarter, we took a lot of time training [and] putting on presentations.”
As president, Broadway is responsible for appointing chairs to all A.S. Boards, Committees and Units (BCUs). According to Broadway, people who want to become chairs typically submit a statement of intent to the president then, if approved, will be sent to the Senate for final acceptance. There are currently a number of unfilled BCU positions due to confusion within A.S. about the appointment process, she said.
“What I’ve noticed, though, is that many chairs don’t realize that they have to send out a statement of intent,” Broadway said, clarifying that the Internal Vice President (IVP) then sent out an email reminding applicants. “So it’s been kind of a learning curve for chairs as well as myself and the IVP just to figure out a more streamlined way to get those appointments in.”
This quarter, the Senate has instituted an Outstanding BCU award to spotlight members of the Association who go above and beyond in their respective duties, rewarding them with double their A.S. stipend. BCUs may submit themselves for consideration before Broadway nominates up to three for senate consideration. Broadway released the application last week, which will be open until Jan. 27.
“I believe firmly in giving back to the students. So I’m looking at how are the events that [BCUs are] putting on directly benefiting students? How are we giving back to them and making sure that their needs are met? But also that they have things to look forward to, while they’re getting their higher education,” Broadway said.
One of Broadway’s platform points was to improve communication between her office and the student body by sending out a newsletter with content submission opportunities for BCUs three times a month, and delivering biweekly reports at senate meetings.
Broadway sent out one newsletter in October which received two content submissions from BCUs. She explained that she decided to pause on the newsletters until her office was fully trained.
“For last quarter, we kind of decided that since my office was … very much in the process of getting trained and not really pushing out as many events, that we thought we would wait until winter quarter, when more of our staff are actually pushing out more events, to restart those newsletters,” Broadway said.
Last quarter, Broadway said she was only able to attend one senate meeting due to time conflicts with Resident Assistant meetings, as well as anxiety stemming from questions from senators about her report on Oct. 16, which she said “blindsided” and “villianize[d]” her. Broadway did not go into further detail about the content of the questioning.
“I feel like when I went to the Senate and gave my report, I was questioned in a way that made me feel like someone was trying to villainize me, or make me villainize someone else,” Broadway said.
Broadway said she recognizes she has a “duty to uphold” and will deliver a senate report herself or by proxy every two weeks going forward.
“After that, I was just feeling all the emotions of the anxiety that had built up from being on the Senate the year before,” Broadway, who was a senator during the 2023-24 academic year, said. “Even just thinking of going to the Senate and giving a report and being questioned in that way again just honestly made me not want to go to the Senate, and made me not want to interact with the Senate. It made me feel almost unmotivated, in a way, as well.”
In other attempts to make herself accessible to students, Broadway said that she holds regular office hours, is active on social media and maintains a physical presence on campus.
“I tend to do work in my office. Sometimes I’ll leave my door open — if I’m not in a meeting, I’ll leave my door open — or open my shade so that people can see I’m in there,” Broadway said. “I also sometimes sit outside in the Arbor or in the library, just to kind of make myself more approachable.”
Over the summer, Broadway began working with Student Advocate General (S.A.G.) Alvin Wang to acquire free LinkedIn Learning accounts for all students, a platform that would allow them to earn professional certificates which show up on their LinkedIn profiles.
According to Broadway, obstacles including their LinkedIn contact being switched and communication issues with UC Santa Barbara Human Resources have led to the project being at a standstill.
Broadway said they were considering combining the student contracts with an existing faculty LinkedIn Learning contract, but faced a “back and forth” from administration about merging the contracts. She said she felt little support from “campus partners” she would not identify, calling them “unresponsive” and “rude.”
“They were unnecessarily rude to our LinkedIn contact and it almost felt like they were yelling at him and nagging at him when they felt that the discount wasn’t enough for them, even though the discount was mainly supposed to be applied for the students,” Broadway said. “Admin definitely has some things that they can fix, especially when it comes to working with students, but also working with a professional company. It makes us look unprofessional and it also just makes our processes a lot harder.”
In November, Broadway, alongside the UC council of undergraduate student presidents, met with UC President Michael V. Drake in Oakland to express student concerns regarding UC time, place and manner policies, which list guidelines for protests and free speech.
In her conversation with Drake, she discovered that every campus was supposed to release an undergraduate feedback form for the policy. However, upon speaking to UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang last week, she said he was unaware of this.
“I think that also just kind of goes to show that there’s some disconnect happening above me as well. And honestly, it’s really unfortunate, because that means that we were probably the only UC [where] our students didn’t know we were allowed to give feedback on that policy,” Broadway said.
The council of undergraduate student presidents also touched on the fears of marginalized groups under the new federal administration in their conversation with Drake, emphasizing the importance of people feeling “protected and at least as safe as possible” on UC campuses. Broadway noted that they plan to continue this discussion during their next meeting with Drake.
In terms of communication with Yang, Broadway said her first meeting with him took place this quarter after he failed to reach out to her in fall. Going forward, Broadway hopes to meet with him at least once a month to further discuss time, place and manner policies.
“I did talk to him about the time, place, manner policy … and he didn’t really have much to add. He didn’t really say much at all, to be honest. I didn’t even get to hear what he’s working on, or if there’s anything that’s really going on, which is unfortunate, but it’s definitely something that I’ll continue to push for as we meet over the quarter,” Broadway said.
Broadway said her biggest accomplishment last quarter was coordinating a meeting between the A.S. Community Affairs Board and the Non-Traditional Student Resource Center to discuss raising quarterly Child-Care Grants for student parents. Currently, students may receive $125 for one child and $25 more per additional child.
“With the couple of meetings that we did have, we were able to get with the Community Affairs Board and basically write the legal code to make the change to how much money they’re granted, and then also to rewrite the ballot language so that they can apply for a fee waiver for those student parents,” Broadway said.
As for more short-term projects this quarter, Broadway is working with the A.S. External Vice President for Statewide Affairs office, Undocumented Student Services, UCSB Campus Democrats and UCSB Lobby Corps to host a teach-in on Jan. 22 about student advocacy in light of a new U.S. presidential administration. As a member of the A.S. Black Empowerment Task Force, Broadway is collaborating with the Black Student Union to host an open night event in honor of Black History Month. She is also working with A.S. Public & Mental Health Commission to host a Valentine’s Day candy grams and mingle event.
Broadway said her biggest goal for the rest of the year is securing LinkedIn Learning for students and helping establish a permanent reflection room in collaboration with the Senate’s temporary Jewish-Muslim alliance committee. She put the committee in contact with the Student Resource Building operations team and governance board to find a space for the room.
Later this year, Broadway will be faced with her “biggest responsibility” as president — creating the A.S. budget for next year. She said she is reaching out to the Senate and Michael Cea, A.S. Associate Director for Finance and Budget, about budget hearings and advice to prepare herself.
“I feel not as prepared or well-equipped, especially well-equipped, because once the budget hearings happen, that’s what I’m gonna have to create my own budget that will be sent to the Senate. So I want to be just as prepared as possible. And also, just as knowledgeable as I can be when it comes to what I should be looking out for during the process.”
External Vice President of Local Affairs: Owen Myers

Meyers said he is working to bring back the restorative justice program for the upcoming Deltopia weekend. Maddy Fangio / Daily Nexus
Fourth-year history of public policy and law major and External Vice President for Local Affairs (EVPLA) Owen Meyers expanded the University of California in Isla Vista (UCIV) safety service, invested resources into the Pardall Center and worked to improve bluff safety on the I.V. cliffs by installing blue-light towers since being in his position.
During fall quarter, Meyers worked to expand UCIV — a community-based police alternative that provides water and medical care to partygoers every weekend. UCIV team members sit underneath tents and provide these resources at Camino Pescadero Park and the Pardall Center. Meyers expanded the program during the fall quarter, growing the team from 13 members to 40 and adding a second aid station in front of the Pardall Center.
The UCIV service was first launched in 2014 and operated until 2018. It was then revived in 2023 by former EVPLA Hailey Stankiewicz.
Meyers is currently trying to obtain funding to purchase an electric bicycle for the UCIV team because the bike could help transport water to Del Playa Drive (DP) during party nights. He added that the bike could be instrumental during Deltopia, Isla Vista’s annual unsanctioned daytime street festival.
“We know how hectic of a day [Deltopia] can be. There are thousands of people all crowding that street. And I just think one of the main problems last year that I saw was that there weren’t any water distribution centers on DP, and the sheriff’s department has historically wanted to keep that space empty for ambulances,” Meyers said.
Meyers said he is also working to bring back the Restorative Justice Program, which allows residents cited with non-felony misdemeanors to waive citation fees and wipe their record through community service hours and courses, for the upcoming Deltopia weekend. Last year, for Deltopia, Isla Vista Foot Patrol (IVFP) made the unprecedented decision to suspend the program.
“I do not want that suspension to occur again,” Meyers said. He called the decision a “shock to the community.”
He also said that eliminating the system does not deter outsiders from coming to I.V. to party on Deltopia — as attendance of the festival has significantly increased since COVID-19 lockdown, resulting in overwhelmed emergency services and higher amounts of police citations.
IVFP data from last year’s Deltopia showed that out of the 275 individuals arrested or issued citations, 156 identified themselves as coming from out of town.
“We’ve already seen that suspending restorative justice had no effect on the amount of people coming for Deltopia. In fact, we saw the numbers [of outside attendees] increase, so obviously it’s not a deterrent,” Meyers said.”I just think having that second chance be removed for that specific day when it’s people coming from outside [of UCSB] causing these citations is just unfair to students in residence.”
A cornerstone of Meyers’s tenure as EVPLA has been expanding the Pardall Center’s services. The center provides a space for students to seek basic resources in I.V. Meyers said he has a “strong attachment” to the building because of his time as the Pardall Center chair last year.
Meyers has expanded the Pardall Center resources to include a basic needs vending machine, which includes subsidized health products such as Plan B and Narcan sold for affordable prices.
He has also hosted multiple events in the Pardall Center, such as STD screening drives and a “Winter Welcome” event earlier this quarter.
These efforts to expand the center are part of his plan to make it the “[MultiCultural Center] of I.V.,” referencing the space on campus that has “served, validated, and prioritized marginalized populations on campus,” according to its website.
To help with bluff safety, Meyers is working to install blue-light towers near the cliffs, similar to ones found on campus. The towers will provide illumination to dark places along the cliff and allow people to call emergency services via an emergency button. The project will use $40,485 of A.S. Senate funding and the towers are in the process of being purchased and shipped. Meyers said he expects the towers to be delivered in the spring.
“These towers not only provide a form of crime deterrence but also provide a form of bluff safety, risk reduction, as they basically just act as a lit place. They’ll be stationed near the back of parks and provide a lit spot to show the closeness of the bluffs,” Meyers said.
Meyers also plans to hold a memorial event in the spring for those who have died due to bluff-related accidents over the years. 14 people have died in cliff-related deaths in I.V. since 1990. In collaboration with Supervisor Laura Capps and the Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD), he plans to install a monument with their names near the cliff in the spring.
External Vice President for Statewide Affairs: Monica Mekhlouf

Mekhlouf said while she doesn’t know exactly when the DCC will be established, they’re hoping it’ll be unveiled “in the next year.” Maddy Fangio / Daily Nexus
External Vice President for Statewide Affairs (EVPSA) Monica Mekhlouf spent fall quarter working to improve resources for disabled students, addressing I.V.’s housing crisis and supporting UCSB students on a statewide level, with a focus on marginalized groups such as undocumented students.
Mekhlouf, a fourth-year communication major, has been working closely with the University of California Student Association (UCSA) to develop legislative goals to work towards this year. They are then used by student delegations at conferences to lobby state and federal officials on key issues that impact UCSB students.
According to Mekhlouf, UCSA is currently focused on improving civic engagement with “UC We Vote,” a campaign attempting to increase voter registration across UC campuses and participating in elections other than the presidential one.
Mekhlouf will also be attending the Students of Color Conference at UC Berkeley from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, which is meant to allow students of color across the UCs to discuss discrimination and education equity issues they experience across the campuses. They noted how previous members of Associated Students experienced discrimination and racism on campus.
“This has just been an ongoing, ongoing issue in our space, and at our campus, we’ve had students being called slurs on the way back from a senate meeting because they expressed some opinion,” Mekhlouf said. “So [the] Students of Color Conference, I would say, is less about lobbying and more about power leveraging and power mapping and sort of giving students an opportunity to point to and name the issues that we’re seeing on campus.”
Mekhlouf mentioned in her summer update that they wanted to improve resources for disabled students. She plans on meeting with Disabled Students Program Director Jane Castillón to access a large source of funding for disability-related resources. These resources include improved staffing and the creation of the Disabilities Cultural Center (DCC) in the University Center, a dedicated space for disabled students.
They also want to create a better evacuation plan for the DCC as the current method is “not amazing for disabled students” as it is planned to be on the third floor.
While Mekhlouf said she is laying the foundation for the DCC to be built, they expressed it has been a “waiting game” of coordinating with administration providing renovation to accessible space. She has also been working closely with Yao Yao Xiao, the co-chair of the A.S. Commission on Disability Equity (C.O.D.E.), to allow students to have seamless interactions with DCC, including channels that can pick up on hearing aids and screens that transcribe meetings.
“I wouldn’t say there’s been a substantial amount of progress [on DCC], but getting something like a Disability Cultural Center established is kind of a long haul,” Mekhlouf said. “I think right now, we’re less concerned for results, and we’re more just concerned that the groundwork is laid.”
Mekhlouf and Xiao have been working to improve disability awareness for professors. C.O.D.E. is heading a Rate My Professors-like project where disabled students can rate professors on how well they comply with accommodations disabled students need, such as late submissions.
“A lot of disabled students at our campus who are students of color, low income, don’t have diagnoses that they can present to people, and even just the waiting time to get your accommodations listed out to be enrolled in DSP can be horrific weeks at a time, and during a quarter system a week is everything,” Mekhlouf said.
Mekhlouf said that while they don’t know exactly when the DCC will be established, she is hoping it will be unveiled “in the next year.”
In regards to the San Benito and East Campus housing projects, which are currently being built, Mekhlouf has been helping the Basic Needs Director Katie Maynard to communicate with undergraduate students who are advising the project.
Mekhlouf is also working on a policy to stop housing discrimination for undocumented students. They collected student testimonies last quarter which she said were “really insightful,” and that it’s on their legislative priorities, “if not for this cycle, then the next.” She took the student testimonies to their quarterly meeting with Drake in hopes of holding the University accountable for housing discrimination. They also said the housing officer of UCSA has been collecting statewide housing numbers for undocumented students to use as leverage against the University, and they plan to continue focusing on undocumented students with issues such as food access.
In regards to Drake and Yang stepping down this year, Mekhlouf mentioned speaking with the Regents to ensure there’s an advisory board with undergraduate students to select the new UC President and Chancellor. UCSA’s campaign “UC We Vote” is intended to improve civic engagement to ensure student representation when selecting these new positions.
Mekhlouf also expressed disappointment in UC-wide policies that were reiterated in the last year, specifically one that restricts students’ abilities to organize on campus following encampments in support of Palestine. Their office has been trying to meet with people such as Vice Chancellor Margaret Klawunn and Associate Vice Chancellor Katya Armistead to ensure students won’t be targeted due to this policy.
“We’ve been trying to do everything we can at our campus to meet with people like [Klawunn] and [Armistead] and talk about, what does that mean for UCSB and what should we have in mind as we’re in communication with our organizers on campus? How can [students] organize in ways they won’t be unnecessarily targeted or threatened or oppressed? And we’ve actually had a pretty good time here at our campus organizing,” Mekhlouf said.
Mekhlouf expressed that despite police intervention in the Palestine encampment, she noted that Yang was “a bit more permissible” when it came to calling the police on organizers compared to other UC chancellors.
They also have been concerned for Item J2, restricting a department’s ability to make public statements on websites, which sparks concerns regarding free speech.
“It just felt unfair to pass the sort of policy like this specifically towards departments, because we felt that it targeted administrators and an administrator’s ability to speak freely about, you know, their opinions, their thoughts while occupying a position at this university,” Mekhlouf said.
Regarding Mekhlouf’s plans for the rest of the year, she said she will be “doubling down” on lobbying to make sure students have access to events hosted by UCSA. They hope UCSA will fund more student groups and address students’ issues beyond campus, such as bringing student delegations to events like Hill Day in Washington, D.C.
Mekhlouf finished by emphasizing her continued dedication to uplifting students’ voices and improving their resources.
“My goal for the quarter following is always the same, to make sure I’m continuing to uplift student voices in all the ways that I can and making sure that these opportunities are not behind this red tape. That students can access them and not worry about paying for things, not worry about classes, and just be able to go out there and organize their power,” Mekhlouf concluded.
Student Advocate General: Alvin Wang

Wang said that going into winter quarter, he will redirect his focus toward academic policy changes. Maddy Fangio / Daily Nexus
In his last quarter as Student Advocate General (S.A.G.), third-year computer science major Alvin Wang discussed an upcoming artificial intelligence (AI) workshop series in response to an uptick in AI-related cases, progress on lowering the GPA threshold for academic probation and his contributions to meal swipe reform and a basic needs vending machine.
The Office of the Student Advocate’s (OSA) main priority is providing peer support during disputes between the University and students. Over the summer, the OSA took on 16 cases because of OSA caseworkers who were trained during the previous academic year. Since the beginning of fall quarter, the office has taken on 12 cases.
According to Wang, at least double that amount of students have been helped. Their cases, however, weren’t counted in the total case number if their needs were met over email.
Several caseworkers stayed on from the previous year, and new caseworkers were trained over the summer. There are 10 caseworkers in total, along with the Internal Chief of Staff, third-year political science major Justin Gallaway, who directs students to offices that can offer them additional resources.
“Fall went incredibly well, the reason being is that fall was the first quarter that all the caseworkers were trained,” Wang said.
In regards to case trends, Wang said the OSA deals with many cases from out-of-state and international students to secure in-state tuition over the summer. Academic-related cases tend to rise during the school year — Wang said that in particular, there’s been an increase in artificial intelligence-related cases.
“We’re receiving an immense uptick in AI-related cases from the past year, and most of that is because of ChatGPT, and instructors concerned with ChatGPT,” Wang said.
In response, the OSA is planning a series of workshops starting in Week 6 informing students on what they can do if they’re accused of cheating using AI and what instructors should do if they suspect a student is using it to cheat.
Wang said that on average the OSA receives 20-30 cases per quarter and that he has been trying to increase awareness about the office’s services through tabling on the Arbor walkway. Last quarter, the OSA office tabled during Weeks 3, 5 and 8 for four days each week. Although students may not need them immediately, Wang hopes that students who have interacted with the table keep the OSA’s services in mind for the future.
“These are not results that we might see immediately, but they are a cumulative effect that we will see in years to come,” he said.
According to Wang, the OSA’s social media presence grew this year as well. During the weeks the OSA tabled, the office’s Instagram account grew from roughly 350 followers to 700.
“Even though right now we’re having more cases than last year, there still needs to be more awareness among the student body,” he said. “In an ideal world, there should be zero cases, but I anticipate that a lot more than 20 students in a quarter are needing our services.”
As the previous chair of the Basic Needs Committee, Wang has also been working with Housing, Dining & Auxiliary Enterprises, A.S. Food Bank and UCSB’s chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America to bring meal swipe reform to campus.
The rollover and sharing pilot program is available to a random sample of 10% of students with a meal plan. Beginning in fall quarter, the program allows four meal swipes weekly to roll over to the next week and two to be shared between students. The meal swipe donation program is available this year to all students with a dining plan, with up to three swipes a week eligible for donation to the A.S. Food Bank. So far, nearly 1,000 meal swipes have been donated and around 450 distributed to students. It will continue during the winter and spring quarters, and data compiled during the year will inform the next steps for the program.
“The donation program has seen widespread usage, a lot more than I anticipated,” Wang said.
Roughly 700 donated meal swipes are still available for distribution, and donated meal swipes that are not used within three months will expire. Wang emphasized the need for more marketing so that students facing food insecurity can take advantage of the program.
Wang has also been working to set up a basic needs vending machine in front of the Pardall Center that will become available during Week 3 or 4, depending on when the supplies arrive. It will be open 24 hours a day and include contraceptives, bandages and menstrual products. It was initially set to be operational early fall quarter; it is unclear as to what caused the delay.
In addition, the OSA is partnering with the Isla Vista Tenants Union to revamp the Pardall Center’s tenant website to include information on units available and resources for navigating the housing process.
“Right now, UCSB students don’t really have a consolidated site for housing resources where they can find housing,” Wang said.
Last quarter, Wang and Broadway filled out a senate proposal to have $28,850 allocated to LinkedIn Learning. The program allows users to complete online courses relating to professional skills such as software development or data creation that will appear on their profile. The proposed plan was to provide the program for free to all students for the rest of the school year starting in December.
“In a time of increasing competition in the job market, President Broadway and I feel that LinkedIn Learning is a fantastic opportunity for the students at UCSB to stand out [and] make their resumes shine,” Wang said.
The new implementation date is still unknown due to licensing agreements with UCSB’s Human Resources department. Wang said that it will be available to students “as soon as possible.”
Wang said that going into winter quarter, he will redirect his focus toward academic policy changes as opposed to the basic needs work he concentrated on during fall.
“The way I see my role this year is that, if I want to do something, I should probably do several things well, as opposed to spreading myself thin. The goal is to increase the depth as much as possible while sacrificing breadth,” he said.
One of Wang’s original platform points was lowering the GPA threshold for academic probation from 2.0 to 1.7. This quarter, the OSA will be taking data received from students encountering academic probation and converse with administration to see if this change would be possible.
“Being a student body representative and advocating for an issue that affects students that might not play into the intentions of administration can be a difficult challenge,” Wang said. “It’s worked in the past, but my hope is to push as far as I can in these conversations, and even if the answer is a very direct no, I think that is still worth pursuing.”
Despite previous reports stating that 2023-24 was a record-breaking year for the number of cases, Wang said this was inaccurate because recordkeeping was “a bit lost” during years impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that in reality, the OSA has taken on more cases in previous years than last year.
Reflecting on his time as S.A.G and in A.S. overall, Wang emphasized the importance of grassroots organizing among students, regardless of the position they may hold.
“A position doesn’t serve as a stepping stone to advocate,” Wang said. “In any position, whether you’re associated with Associated Students or don’t have a position, you’re equally as capable of serving the interests of the student body.”
Internal Vice President Açúcar Pinto declined requests for interview.
A version of this article appeared on p. 4-5 of the Jan. 23, 2025 edition of the Daily Nexus.