Davey Li is running to become a student senator-at-large on a platform centred around increased accessibility, open educational resources and compassionate academic policy.
The fourth-year microbiology and immunology major and former Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) VP academic wants to use his experiences within SUS to advocate for an improved student experience for the entire student community.
A major focus of Li’s platform is accessibility. He said he would push UBC to incorporate more online learning options.
"I think [hybrid learning] is a really valuable resource … we can use lecture capturing technology as a tool rather than a set format," said Li.
Li’s motivation to run stems from seeing many peers slip "through the cracks of the UBC system."
"I think it comes a lot from personal experience," said Li. "There's a lot of situations I think that can be far better managed and with compassionate policy and the right directions."
Li emphasized the importance of data to drive solutions to achieve his goals.
"I've done [surveys] in my past roles, [and] I've seen it work again and again. You need data to drive your advocacy."
Li said he understands student surveys often face low response rates but emphasized his belief in their value. His goal would be to design surveys to be as "short, quick and good" as possible.
Li acknowledged the difficulty of keeping students engaged in Senate discussions as the Senate is often slow-moving. He proposed once-a-term town halls to meet with students to gain their feedback.
"Students are going to check … and see nothing really happened. [That] there's been minimal progress. But having a term town hall to gather student feedback and voices will be really critical," said Li.
Li also noted Senate requires catching up on a lot of institutional knowledge but stressed that his past experiences in SUS allow him to comprehend the body. He also hopes that incumbents will participate in the "transition of institutional knowledge."
The candidate praised his predecessors for their continuous advocacy for flexibility through COVID-19 uncertainty. He proposed further extending the Cr/D/F deadline.
“I was a big fan of that because it just allowed everyone a bit more flexibility. I think we should review and UBC should really consider applying that [today] and extending Credit/D/Fail deadlines so the things that aren't so stringent.”
During debates, Li was knowledgable on some policies and was one of the few candidates to admit that he had policy gaps elsewhere instead of providing a general answer.
Li is running against incumbents Romina Hajizadeh and Kamil Kanji and fellow newcomers Kareem Hassib, Mathew Ho, Ayesha Irfan and Sultana Razia.
Follow us at @UbysseyNews on Twitter and follow our election coverage starting February 27. This article is part of our 2023 AMS Elections coverage.