BY OFURE EIGBE / STAFF WRITER
We know the Augustana Student Association plays many roles on campus, but what do we know about what they actually do for Augustana Students? Before that, let me briefly introduce our ASA members for the 2022/2023 academic year.
EXECUTIVE
Cindy Roose – Executive Director
Jewel Naicker – President
Saim Khokhar – VP Finance
Kyra Gusdal – VP Student Life
Ursula Pountou – VP Academic
Eylul Evren – VP Communications
STUDENT COUNCIL
Miron Nekhoroshkov – First Year Representative
Katherine Starishko – First Year Representative
Husna Usman – Second Year Representative
Jay Modi – Second Year Representative
Sarah Nagel – Third Year Representative
Adrian Lam – Off Campus Representative
Denzel Kalmoni – International Students’ Representative
Ty Holmes – Indigenous Students’ Representative
I had a chance to speak with second-year and Indigenous student representatives, Husna Usman and Ty Holmes, to discuss some of their goals for the year and learn a bit more about the team.
Husna Usman – Second-Year Representative
Husna is a second-year Law, Crime, and Justice major. She likes to watch Anime for fun, and held a student council position while in high school. Joining the ASA has taught her more about leadership and has given her a different outlook on what a leader should have. For Husna, leadership is three words: Vision, Direction, and Delivery.
Husna joined the ASA because of her drive to bring a voice to issues that some students may believe are unimportant. Husna believes that speaking about issues will make university life less stressful.
Discussing her objectives for this year, Husna said she would like to do better academically than last year, to understand students more, and to establish bonds with them. She wants to make a difference in Augustana. Her goal is to impact the lives of the students she can reach, even if her focus will be on second years as a second-year representative.
When asked about her thoughts on Augustana, Husna clearly stated her admiration for our small community and the room it provides for personal growth and access to professors. She believes the small campus helps increase academic focus.
I took the opportunity to ask Husna about current ASA projects. One currently being worked on is the gender-neutral washrooms, a step towards inclusivity on campus. The ASA are also aiming at fixing the water fountain in the Ravine, and are brainstorming more event ideas to engage students and to familiarize themselves to the students.
As a second-year representative, Husna acknowledges that she is held accountable for listening and representing the second-year students with any of their academics and social issues while in school.
Husna ended this interview with advice for anyone finding it hard to find their crowd at Augustana: “in the end, it is not that deep. If you find solid relationships, fine, if not, you are still chilling.”
Ty Holmes – Indigenous Student Representative
Ty Holmes is a first year in the Law, Crime, and Justice major. Ty enjoys going hiking in the summertime, playing casual sports like badminton and volleyball, and playing video games with friends online and in person.
Ty joined the ASA because of his desire to support the Indigenous peoples across campus in any way possible. Ty grew up in a town he describes as “practically in the bush” in Northern Alberta, and he believes that the experiences he had there allow him to relate to the Indigenous community both on and off campus.
Currently, Ty is workshopping a newsletter to provide information about scholarships, helplines, and other important information to the Augustana community.
In terms of projects the ASA is developing, Ty is proud to see movement in the push for gender-neutral bathrooms on campus. Other than that, he says that they are making excellent progress on other projects around campus, and suggests that if students want to be informed of more of these projects, you can join the student council meetings in the Roger Epp room on Wednesdays at 5:30 pm.
The Dagligtale News 