The Nexus compiled profiles of the 2025-26 Associated Students elected officials to reflect on their past year in office. As they look back on their campaign platforms, we asked our elected officials to tell us about their successes and shortfalls throughout their terms in office. The term in reviews for the other executives can be viewed at dailynexus.com and/or in our April 30, 2026 print edition.
The 2025-26 Associated Students President, Le Anh Metzger, reflected on her and her office’s projects throughout the academic year. In particular, Metzger highlighted her outreach initiatives, basic needs projects and improvements to internal functions.
Although the next president has not been elected yet, Metzger said she will ensure there is a strong transition period. Wesley Haver / Daily Nexus
“I think I did accomplish the majority of the things I set out to accomplish,” Metzger said. “Also, there were things that happened along the way that I didn’t expect to do, but have turned out to be so meaningful.”
Metzger, a fourth-year global studies, communication and Spanish triple major, was previously the chair of the Commission on Student Well-Being. As Associated Students (A.S.) President, Metzger is responsible for setting the Association’s vision for the year, working on projects alongside her office and serving as the student representative on various university committees, among other responsibilities.
Throughout her term, Metzger instated several recurring initiatives to increase A.S.’s accessibility to students, such as a biweekly “Coffee with the President” and monthly newsletters about A.S. events and resources. Metzger said that throughout this year’s tabling efforts, more students have told her they know about A.S. and the services it provides compared to the start of the year.
“Now, when I’m tabling, it feels, at least to me, [that] a lot more people are like, ‘Yeah, I know what A.S. is. Yeah, I know what you guys do,’” she said.
Given the 2026 Spring Election’s ballot deadline was indefinitely extended after failing to meet the minimum participation requirements, Metzger said there is “still a ways to go” as far as A.S. visibility.
“I think we’ve definitely made big strides this year, but obviously there’s still a ways to go, considering that the elections didn’t close in four days,” she said. “There are things that I’ve established that have the potential to improve transparency and accessibility, but I don’t think they’ve reached their full potential yet.”
Some of the largest projects Metzger worked on during her term were NARCAN boxes in university-owned housing, the partial reinstatement of library hours and Protect Your Peers Week.
Putting NARCAN Nasal Spray cabinets in all university-owned housing was a project that Metzger had been working on since the previous academic year and materialized in the fall. The project was a part of her larger initiatives towards harm reduction, such as Overdose Prevention Week, which she is working to integrate into the A.S. Public and Mental Health Commission. According to Metzger, over 1,000 overdose prevention kits were distributed during this year’s Overdose Prevention Week.
Several members of the Association, including Metzger, worked on expanding library hours and finding alternative 24/7 spaces after library hours were reduced over the summer. A.S. funded a significant portion of the money needed to add more hours, however, those funds are set to expire at the end of the academic year. Metzger said the Association is working to secure funds so that the negotiated hours aren’t cut, which has put the push for a full reinstatement on pause.
“Without [A.S.] trying to maintain it, it’s gonna go back to larger reductions [to] hours,” Metzger said.
Throughout the year, Metzger and other executives collaborated with local immigrant rights organizations to host rapid response workshops, which taught attendees how to identify United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) activity. During winter quarter, these efforts culminated in Protect Your Peers Week, which offered legal workshops and other resources for undocumented and international students.
Aside from these events, Metzger will be fundraising for local immigrant nonprofits 805UndocuFund and SBResiste, in June. Additionally, her office is looking to establish more Monarch Opportunity Scholarships, which are job opportunities for undocumented students. Metzger has also been organizing funds from various A.S. entities for the meal plan scholarships distributed by Undocumented Student Services and the Dream Scholar Fund Scholarship from the Office of Financial Aid.
Other projects from her office that focused on students’ basic needs include securing $15,000 for grocery vouchers, $10,000 towards free Super Cucas burritos for undocumented students and those who use CalFresh, as well as a farmers market in Isla Vista to improve accessibility to fresh produce, among others.
Another recent large-scale initiative within her office was the first-ever Earth Month at UC Santa Barbara, which was organized by members of her sustainability team. The team has also been working towards modernizing the eternal flame to be more sustainable.
“I think that [Earth Month] was just a massive, massive success. It was a really, really great project,” Metzger said. “Raising awareness about the environment is always a good thing.”
As a former Boards, Committees and Units (BCU) chair, one of Metzger’s main platform points was improving communication between BCUs and A.S. leadership. She hoped to achieve this through quarterly “State of the Association” meetings, in which all BCUs delivered reports on their projects and events so that groups across A.S. and the student body are made aware of what others are working on, and making them known to the student body. Metzger says that it’s been “a great internal tool” and hopes it gains traction outside of the Association in the coming years.
One of the president’s final responsibilities is providing budget recommendations for the next academic year. To improve transparency, Metzger said she released the rationale behind budget changes to groups within A.S., which, to her knowledge, has not been done before. The Finance Committee’s recommendations, which come before the president’s, are based on several factors, including meeting minutes submitted by each BCU.
After next year’s budget proposals were released, the Black Women’s Health Collaborative (BWHC) questioned its potential 63% budget decrease. In the aftermath, Metzger met with BWHC leadership to discuss its budget and next steps.
“I heard their perspective and how they’re planning to spend their money, etc., and kind of the ways that they’ve felt unsupported this year,” she said.
Metzger recommended the same budget that the BWHC had this year. She said that she is also including a BCU advisor for marginalized groups as part of her recommendations.
“I recommend [a BCU advisor for marginalized groups] being a top priority in terms of hiring,” Metzger said. “It was just confusion and misunderstanding and also a lack of support, so moving forward, making sure that all groups have the support that they need.”
In regards to other BCUs, she said she has made an effort to introduce herself to chairs throughout her term.
The bulk of Metzger’s initiatives were internal. She created a Canvas page with information for Association members and expanded the Pearman Fellowship, a program meant to help introduce students to A.S., among other internal improvements.
“You can’t be a good association to the outside students if you’re not functioning well, if you’re not having that really good internal communication, if your systems aren’t up to par,” Metzger said.
Although the next president has not been elected yet, Metzger said she will ensure there is a strong transition period. Metzger hopes her successor will finalize some of the projects she started, such as equipment rentals for student musicians.
“[I want to make] sure they’re as prepared as possible, because it is a really big role to take on and there’s so many more responsibilities than you even imagined,” she said. “There’s so many things that I wanted to improve or do this year … that I couldn’t or I didn’t have time to.”
Metzger said she hopes the next A.S. executives continue the initiatives she created and are “good stewards of student fees.” In the future, Metzger hopes to work in the nonprofit sector and possibly earn a master’s degree in public policy.
“We do have resources as student leaders and we can make change. You just have to actually come up with a plan and do it, not just get caught up in the weeds and the noise,” Metzger said. “Actually making a plan and following through. I think that’s the most important thing.”
A version of this article appeared on p. 3 of the April 30, 2026 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
