Contents
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Election Results
Numerical results are located here.
Candidate Statements
Vice President of Academic Affairs
Andrey Poletayev
I don’t want to bother you with flowery political statements, so here is what I want to do as VPAA/ARC chair:
I want to implement the suggestions voiced at the Student Experience Trip (whenever that comes out) and the Student Experience Conference (SEC). While serving as Ricketts ARC Rep this past year, I was in charge of writing the follow-up report from SEC that was distributed to all houses, faculty and administrators. The conference and the report have proposed improvements and catalyzed the discussion of TQFR surveys and the freshman/option advising system. Serving as a student representative on the Curriculum Committee, I am also pushing for improving under-united courses across Caltech. As VPAA, I want to see these and other proposed changes carried out and implemented.
We also need a more effective feedback system for course and academic policy issues (this has also been one of the major points of the SEC). While in the long run the conference itself is an example of a working feedback venue, short-term (on the scale of a term or a course) mechanisms are currently lacking. For academic issues, ARC should be the first venue for such feedback. As soon as any ARC rep hears a legitimate complaint, the VPAA and ARC must act quickly to alleviate the issue. For example, this term it only took the ARC one week to work with the professor of ACM 95B and change the grading scheme of the course to better reflect student opinion. Waiting for TQFR results would have only done something for next year or some other future time. I hope that this and other cases will encourage more open communication, because there are many complaints that never get voiced and delivered to ARC and therefore are never addressed. If elected VPAA, I will be in the premier position to make the ARC actively seek feedback to respond to it immediately.
Lastly, ASCIT is in need of people willing to not only try to “improving the academics of the Institute for all undergraduates” (ASCIT By-laws, office of VPAA), but also commit to accomplishing it. In the past year, I have put in the work and effort that it takes to make it happen. I want this office to get things done, so please vote for me.
Liuyi Pei
It’s midterms week, and most of you probably have a load of work to do. As you begin to prepare for that exam you’re planning to start at 1am, certain thoughts will cross your mind: “I wish the professor could have gone a little slower through this material,” or “I wish last week’s homework covered more concepts and less tedious algebra”, or “if only I could go to sleep after this exam, but for that 5-hour problem set that’s due on the same day in the same class.” This is where ARC takes its responsibility. If elected Vice President of Academic Affairs, I will work for all the changes the student body would like to see in the academic and research aspects of Caltech. I will list just a few:
The most important duty of ARC is to ensure teaching quality. While it is currently extremely responsive in dealing with problematic courses, I believe that ARC should take the initiative to prevent these courses from appearing in the first place. There should exist a set of official rules set by faculty and students for teaching at Caltech that will prevent professors from setting unreasonable expectations. ARC should advocate consistency from year to year in required courses within each option so that seniors won’t be stuck with needing to take one more course that is not offered. Professors need incentive to focus more on teaching rather than just research, and exceptional teaching methods needs to be publicized among the faculty, perhaps through peer-review. ARC should aim for the use of a standardized feedback website, such as Moodle, so that course feedbacks can be given continuously throughout the term to accurately reflect the work load each week rather than a generalization of the entire term. ARC should also work with the administration to see to the consequences of poor teaching reflected in the surveys.
Advising also has much room for improvement. Many students interact with their advisors on a purely sign-my-drop-card basis. Actual meetings with faculty advisors can be extremely valuable for academic, research, and career advice, and should be mandatory and maybe even given a designated time campus-wide.
The ARC is a very dependable student organization, and I am willing to put in all my effort to make the improvement of undergraduate academics and research an even more efficient process.
Vice President of Non-Academic Affairs
Pallavi Gunalan
In my time here at Caltech, I have been continually surprised and pleased with the amount of power undergrads have on campus. We are fortunate enough to have a great deal of control in decisions that affect our daily life. It is with faith in our shared goals and optimism for our ability to attain them that I am running for Vice President of Non-Academic Affairs (IHC Chair). I am running for this office in particular, because I have not seen a more positive, accurate representation of Caltech students than through the Interhouse Committee.
I must admit, initially I only saw the IHC side of this position. During the events leading up to the recent bylaw change, however, I have become much more aware that I am not only running for a position alongside the house presidents, but also as a member of the newly restructured Board of Directors. This newfound understanding, and my belief that it is important to learn from our mistakes, and learn quickly, pushed me to ask people throughout the houses, and from various forms of student leadership, what they believed was the core problem with the BoD and the IHC. Though opinions varied, the most consistent answer I received was that the student body, and the different student committees, has a pervasive communication problem. Students don’t know what the people they have elected are accomplishing, student leaders don’t know what other student leaders are doing, and this combination can lead to misrepresentation of undergraduates to the administration. This is a significant, but fixable, problem.
In the past, the BoD and the IHC have taken turns in being the proactive student leadership body on campus. Recently, we have seen this simply will not work. Ideally the BoD and the IHC should work together—instead of opposing or ignoring each other—in order to best represent students across campus. The IHC Chair is a critical position, because it serves as liaison to and from both of these leadership bodies, and is key in ensuring misunderstandings don’t create unnecessary obstacles.
In addition to fulfilling the designated responsibilities of VPNAA/IHC Chair, I hope to emphasize the importance of communication. I want to ensure that important and relevant information is transmitted accurately between the students on the IHC and the BoD and the larger student body, for the benefit of all of us students who actually have similar intentions: improving student life at Caltech.
Director of Operations
Michael Maseda
The job of ASCIT Operations Director is one that I feel qualified and capable to perform. I started as a member of the President’s Staff working on the MHF for the Student Experience Trip, creating actionable items from the Hunt Report on Student Life, and working to make Donut easier to use and more informative. I was then promoted to the position of ASCIT Communications Manager, where I currently work on improving communication between ASCIT and the rest of the Caltech community. So yes, I am the guy who sends out the Digest ever week. Among the main responsibilities of the Ops is oversight of publications, upkeep of ASCIT property, and essentially making sure ASCIT runs smoothly. I already have experience in publications, with my involvement in recruiting students to work for The Tech and communicating with other schools’ newspapers about the SET. I want to see ASCIT run more efficiently, and I want to help make things better for everyone. I really care about Caltech, and I know that as Ops I will make a difference.
Tim Black
We need people in ASCIT who will do their jobs well.
It's great that we have restructured ASCIT, but it is now even more important that everyone in ASCIT does what they are supposed to do. So here's what I'm going to do: I will work with the editors of the Big T, little t, Totem, Donut and the Tech to make sure they stay on track. I will maintain a list of active clubs. I will make sure student organizations can easily get what they need from ASCIT - without having to attend a BoD meeting every time they want something.
With the closing of the bookstore, there will soon be space opening up in Winnett Student Center. I will work to reserve some of that area as a lounge for students. I will work with the Social Director to have better campus-wide events. Having been a traveler on the Student Experience Trip, I will work to put our recommendations into practice.
I have worked with ASCIT throughout this past year, and I am excited about what it has the chance to do this year; I look forward to making things happen.
Treasurer
Maral Mazrooei
In the wake of the latest ASCIT bylaw changes, it is our chance to make ASCIT a bigger part of the undergraduate experience. As a member of the Student Experience Trip committee, I recognized that a lack of a school identity is one of the most significant differences that Caltech exhibits compared to other schools. One of the many ways to remedy this, is to have a strong and effective student government. Determined to make a difference, I got involved with the ASCIT Excomm, which played a role in the recent restructuring of ASCIT.
With the current economic situation, there are many budget cuts across campus. Although ASCIT’s budget is not directly affected, we still need to be fiscally responsible. I plan to efficiently allocate funds to clubs by holding them accountable for their contribution to the Caltech community. Many clubs become inactive after receiving funding, and I would like to explore the possibility of regaining this money if they do not follow through. Additionally, my wide interaction with the undergraduate population will help me voice your opinions to the rest of the ASCIT board and administration.
Jordan Theriot
Eric Chin
I won't waste money and will issue checks within a week.
Director of Social Activities
Nadia Iqbal
My name is Nadia, and I'm a sophomore in Dabney Hovse. Since I am incredibly responsible and outgoing, I believe that I am prefect for the job of ASCIT Social Director. Also, I will keep up good contacts with other top members of the ASCIT structure, as well as the SEXCOMM, the social executive committee, composed of social team members of all eight houses. In light of the success of last term's BDR, a joint party funded by Blacker, Dabney and Ricketts, I will make sure to coordinate and meet with the SEXCOMM to organize more Interhouse parties that need little construction, and create a greater sense of community. I will do my best to create campus wide social events, like the Jimmy Eat World concert, to attract all members of the undergraduate body, and take charge of projects and endeavors to promote Interhouse activities. I will get the job done and get it done right.
Heather Widgren
I’d like to introduce myself to those who don’t know me, especially the many frosh I still need to meet. After spending first term abroad, there are a lot of new faces out there for me. So: Hi, ‘New Faces’. I’m Heather, a junior chemistry major in Page. Nice to meet you.
I’m back from Denmark with fresh ideas about how to liven up the Caltech experience. While I realize that Caltech possesses its own unique social environs, I think there are some areas where we have a lot of potential! Both on and off campus lie opportunities waiting to be explored, and the social director should bring them to the attention of the general Techer population. I posit that Caltech has room for more medium-scale events. ‘Why medium? Why not BIG?’ I think that medium-sized events can bring together people from different social groups in a way that large parties sometimes can’t. How about an all-campus scavenger hunt or a Tour de Cuisine around Pasadena? I welcome your ideas, and as your social director, I would love to help make them happen! Thanks!
Board of Control Chair
Andrew Price
Hello,
I am currently a Sophomore majoring in Applied Physics, and I would be honored to serve as your Board of Control Chair.
Since the position of Honor Chair has been eliminated, it falls again to the Board of Control Chair to take on the role of representing the Honor Code. In addition to my role organizing cases, I will be talking to faculty, administration, and incoming students about the Honor Code. I am very enthusiastic about the Honor Code and believe that clear explanation of BoC proceedings will benefit the whole community.
A recently appointed Honor Code Taskforce is examining the Honor Code in more detail. I am always open to change that makes BoC procedure as clear and equitable as possible.
In the past year in have served as the Dabney House representative to the BoC. I have also served as editor of the little t, and as a student representative to the Campus and Residential Life Committee and the Trustee Student Experience Committee.
Sincerely,
Andrew Price
Conduct Review Committee Student Chair
Zenan Chang
Hi all; for those who don’t know me (probably many of the frosh since I studied abroad last term), I’m a junior in Ruddock and I smile for the camera.
"No member of the Caltech community shall take unfair advantage of any other member of the Caltech community." –The Caltech Honor Code
Quite noticeably, the Honor Code gives us freedom in academic matters. Unlike my friends at other schools, I’ve never woken at 6:30am for a final, and I’m thankful for that.
But hopefully life isn’t just schoolwork, and for the non-academic aspects of the Honor Code, we have the Conduct Review Committee (CRC) to ask us to be accountable in everyday life. Since CRC cases can affect the entire Caltech community, the CRC is composed of students, faculty, and staff who can all voice their varying perspectives. I was a CRC rep this past year, and as CRC student chair, I will work to ensure that undergraduate students continue to have fair oversight, heeded input, and be active in constructing decisions.
Finally, please click that email-link sometime today and vote. The Honor Code gives us the freedom to choose to be responsible. May this perspective guide our daily actions.
Tech Editor(s)
Chris Kennelly, Hanna Liu
Every newspaper has a duty to make sure that the people in power are held accountable for implementing good policy. Now more than ever, the Tech needs to be Caltech's watchdog-- how will Caltech's budget cuts affect students, faculty, and staff?? Will administrators hold true to their promise to not compromise Caltech's research and education? How will student leaders far with ASCIT's new bylaws?
All three of us have worked on the Tech since we were freshmen, and we know that the Tech won't be the same without Marissa Cevallos, current Editor-in-Chief. We'll have to find a way to adjust to printing every week without her experience, commitment, and energy.
It'll be tough, but we're willing to sacrifice sleep and grades to make sure that the Tech remains a newspaper.
Christina Kondos
My name is H. Christina Kondos, and as Tech editor, I would include more editorials and features that are interesting to students and faculty. I’d like to include the results of a poll that people respond to online during the week, such as favorite superhero or favorite class in core. Also, it would be nice to convince one faculty member, or engineer at JPL, to write a short editorial about their research, their classes, their hobbies, or just thoughts on the universe. I’d like to replace the restaurant reviews with reviews of movies to rent, graphic novels, and books people are reading. An advice column, written by either a graduate student or an upperclassman that dealt with the day-to-day oddities of studying at Caltech would be fun. There are a lot of students with photography as a hobby, so the Tech could support them by including a few photographs in each edition. Finally, the pets on campus fascinate me, so I’d like to have a weekly “Get to Know a Caltech Pet” section. As editor, I would shift the focus of the Tech to a quirky periodical filled with both important news and community insights for the school.