Associated Students 2025-26 External Vice President of Local Affairs E.J. Raad has spent his fall quarter advocating against the proposed Deltopia noise ordinance, finishing the Associated Students’ Rate My Landlord website and improving basic needs for students.
Raad spent his fall advocating against the Deltopia noise ordinance and supporting students basic needs. Sherine John / Daily Nexus
Raad, a third-year political science major, had a busy quarter given the announcement of the weekend-long noise ordinance, which is effectively cancelling Isla Vista’s annual unsanctioned street festival, Deltopia. Since then, Raad has been campaigning against the ordinance via social media and a town hall meeting in preparation for a Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting, where the board voted unanimously on the ordinance.
Since the ordinance passed, Raad said A.S. will make the alternative, sanctioned event “as great as it possibly can be.” While he’s worried increased law enforcement during the ordinance could result in more citations for students, he hopes the alternative event will be able to “quell that a little bit.”
According to Raad, the Rate My Landlord website — which would allow students to leave reviews for I.V. landlords and property managers — is similar to Rate My Professor and should be available by mid-winter quarter.
If the noise ordinance hadn’t passed, Raad said his office would have funded additional medical services to “ease some of that financial burden” on the county. He also planned to ask the Finance Committee for additional funding for harm reduction efforts, such as NARCAN and fentanyl testing strips.
“The number one priority is, ‘how much can we invest into medical resources,’ if [Deltopia] does end up happening,” Raad said.
During his summer check-in, Raad said he would expand the Pardall Center by including a recurring “immunization clinic” where students could receive vaccinations. His team ultimately decided against the clinic as it would be costly and student health already provides vaccinations for free. Rather, Raad said the Pardall Center will be hosting a “sight-a-thon,” where students can come and get their vision tested for prescription glasses and contacts.
“Essentially, instead of having to do the traditional [vision] test… you go into a mobile clinic. You come in, it scans your eyes in like 10 seconds, and it can tell what type of problems you may have, if you’re near-sighted, farsighted,” Raad said.
According to Raad, vision tests and glasses will be free for students who have insurance, including university coverage. Additionally, Raad said he and his team are looking into providing dental cleanings for students. He said that “it might be a little difficult,” and chose to prioritize vision tests as they are “completely free” if you have insurance.
Raad also said he and his team have been working on their lease pre-qualifier program, which would make it easier for UCSB students to sign up for housing and apply for multiple units with the same application. He said his office has been trying to get the University involved with the program and get “all the stakeholders together to delve more into it.”
Since 48% of UCSB students reported being food insecure, and CalFresh benefits were paused in November, Raad has also been working on food security initiatives. Raad said he’s currently working on providing coupons for food businesses subsidized by A.S., as well as establishing a CalFresh “enrollment fair” to bring visibility to student resources.
During his campaign, one of Raad’s platform points was to provide water filters to I.V. renters, which he plans to incorporate into the promotion of the Rate My Landlord website. Raad said that water filters were something he “didn’t get around to” this quarter due to the Deltopia noise ordinance taking “a huge amount of our attention.”
In regard to why advocating against the noise ordinance was a priority for his team, he said he believes this ordinance is an example of how policies are being “enforced on” Isla Vista as opposed to being able to “create our own solutions for our community.”
“It’s people who are not in our community imposing what they think is how [Isla Vista] should be run, and this is how it’s going to be done. So it’s about fighting for our autonomy and our right to choose what we want with where we live, which I think is the core of the EVPLA rule,” Raad said.
Raad believes that he’s “done a strong job” in his role, specifically with his efforts against the proposed noise ordinance and his progress on the Rate My Landlord website, which he said has been in discussion for years. Considering Raad is a third-year, he said he is “strongly considering” running for re-election, but is not ready to make a “concrete statement” on whether or not he will.
A version of this article appeared on p. 4 of the Jan 15, 2026 edition of the Daily Nexus.
