Note: The views expressed in this interview do not necessarily reflect the views of the Bruin Political Review, and the publication of this interview does not constitute an endorsement for the candidate. Vote on MyUCLA between May 10th and May 17th.

Bruin Political Review (BPR): Hi, Josh, thank you so much for doing this interview with me. How are you doing today? 

Josh Garland: Pretty good. How about you? 

BPR:  Good! I'm doing well, thank you. So what inspires you to run for USAC Internal Vice-President?

Josh Garland: Yeah, that's a really good question. So I joined the IVP office a couple years ago... I was involved in the student involvement committee, I helped out a lot with campus events. We planned the ACC t-shirt contests and helped out with the shipping space ceremony. And then this year, I was lucky to serve with the current IVP making laws as Assistant IVP. So I've helped out with directing other office initiatives such as our off campus housing fair, renting or off campus, for our Housing Rent Relief Fund. I really had a great time being in the office so far. I've loved having the opportunity to help out with basic needs, connecting with different student organizations, connecting students with professional opportunities. I think our office has a lot of great initiatives that can be expanded and improved upon. I think our housing fairs as well as our Rent Relief Fund can be made more accessible to students. So I'm really looking forward to the chance to use my experiences in the office and building components to make our office’s initiatives more accessible to both students.

BPR: Awesome, thank you. So what within your role as assistant IVP do you think most prepares you to fulfill this role, if elected?

Josh Garland: I think just handling a lot of the logistics. I've helped Megan run the entire office this year. So I've been responsible for overseeing a team of over 70 staff. I've also gotten a lot of insight into how USAC works, as well as how the office is run. I'm very familiar with applying for things such as funding, as well as reserving facilities. And then I've also had the opportunity to present USAC other things such as surplus proposals. So it's giving me a lot of really good insight into things like the nitty gritties, on how USAC works, on how the offices run, how to focus on event planning, and how to run long term projects.

BPR: Thank you. So you mentioned a lot within your candidate statement about helping to secure different funding opportunities to combat housing insecurity. As IVP, what steps will you take specifically to continue this process? And how do you plan to combat setbacks in securing this additional funding?

Josh Garland: Yeah, that's a really great question. So something that I want to do is, like I mentioned, I want to expand our Housing and Rent Relief Fund. I would like to accommodate more commuter students who are facing high transportation costs and high gas prices. So I want to transform it from a rent relief fund into a basic needs fund. That way we can accommodate more students in financial need. Similarly to the Housing Rent Relief Fund, I would like to rely on the USAC surplus funding. In order to secure this funding, it'll require a lot of work. I'll probably get a team of students together who are focused specifically on this initiative to prepare a proposal in order to secure more funding for USAC. From that, we can help out more students in financial need. 

And then like we've done this year, I'll probably partner with the financial aid and scholarship office again. That way, we can ensure that all the applications that are coming in are graded fairly, and also have a rubric to ensure that allocations are made fairly. And then something that I mentioned at my endorsement hearings this year is that I want to partner with groups such as USP. That way we can make this program a little more accessible to undocumented students and figure out more ways that more undocumented students can apply to these fundings.

BPR: What barriers do you see in that process to making sure that it's equitable for all students, such as the undocumented students that you mentioned, and even just securing basic funding through the different bureaucratic offices?

Josh Garland: Yeah, I think, because USAC surplus funds are pretty limited. I know this year, they had like, over $3 million in requests for allocations, and I think there is just over a million dollars that need to be divided. And then also, because we usually partner with the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office, so finding a way to work around that will probably be a little bit difficult. 

But I really believe that if I do collaborate with groups, such as IDS and USP, we'll be able to figure out ways that we can get more undocumented students applying for these funds and make it a little more accessible. And then, like I said, getting a good team of people together that way we can prepare a good research proposal with lots of facts and statistics to make a good proposal, USAC will help us to hear a lot more funding in the future.

BPR: Thank you. So outside of those different bodies that you mentioned, how do you plan to foster collaboration between USAC and other student organizations to address the needs and concerns of the student body beyond housing insecurity on a more holistic basis?

Josh Garland: Yeah that's a very good question. So there are a couple of initiatives that I have for this. So the first thing that I would like to do is I want to reinstate the campus safety alliance. This is something that the IVP has done in the past, we just unfortunately have been able to do a lot with it the past couple of years. So something I want to do is, I want to partner with other organizations as well as student organizations and regular students in general, and hold quarterly town halls with administrators. So that way we can give students a voice in campus safety and USAC administration accountable. And this way students can raise and express their concerns with the administration directly. 

And then also something that I would like to continue doing is hosting workshops for student organizations and direct outreach into student organizations. That way, we can get feedback from them about getting integrated directly into USAC, as well as host workshops that help student organizations apply for things such as funding and other resources that USAC has. So I really want to do a lot of hands-on work with student organizations to make sure that they do have a voice within USAC and within UCLA  Administration.

BPR: Thank you. So going back to something you mentioned about the struggles that IVP has had in the past with implementing the campus safety plan. What were those shortcomings or what were the issues that they faced?

Josh Garland: I think this year, we had a really hard time appointing a Campus Safety Alliance Vice Chair keep, which is really crucial to getting the program started. So something that I want to do is early release applications for the Campus Safety Alliance Vice Chair, that way we can get someone onboarded immediately and start planning for the town hall. This year, we've done a really good job actually outreaching to administrators. We had an administrative body and student organization collaboration event, hosted by our administration relations teams. I want to continue building relationships with UCLA administrators so that we can invite more of them to the campus safety Alliance events. So that way, it's more accessible to all students and there can be more conversation between administrators and students. 

BPR: So, again, I feel like you're heavily emphasizing the importance of breaking barriers between students and administration in order to address student needs. What barriers do you see in students accessing various mental health and physical health resources on campus? And how will you strengthen that students’ access to any barriers you saw?

Josh Garland: Oh, yes, that's a really good question. So like I said, I would invite different coalitions of student organizations. I would love to invite different other organizations such as EPC, that way we're inviting different groups of marginalized students so that they can actually have a voice in administration. I don't think it should just be me listing their concerns for them. They should actually have a voice in expressing their concerns with administration regarding the barriers to mental and physical health that they face on this campus, and that will be done through the Campus Safety Alliance. It'll be a great way to invite coalitions and student organizations to show that each group of students actually has a voice. 

BPR: Beyond advocacy and the town hall format, do you see your role being fulfilled by taking more direct action and bringing the needs of student organizations directly to administrators, and trying to facilitate some sort of progress within the administration?

Josh Garland: Yeah, also, something I actually did want to do with my basic-needs platform is partner with the Ashe Center to voice student concerns, especially concerns with appointments or student experiences with the Ashe Center. So I would love to facilitate more connections with the Ashe Center and also give students a chance to raise their concerns about their experiences so that way we can facilitate more direct action to improve student experiences with physical health and mental health resources on campus.

BPR: So still going on the same line of questioning about inclusivity do you see any specific EDI policies that you'd want to have implemented if you were to be elected as IVP in order to foster a stronger sense of community?

Josh Garland: Wait sorry, can you repeat the question one more time? 

BPR: Yeah, what specific policy initiatives would you like to see implemented across campus—like EDI policies—to foster a stronger sense of community and tolerance, especially during times where there's high tensions on campus?

Josh Garland: Yeah, I think, um, probably just the policy regarding campus safety, making sure that all students do have a voice to express their concerns freely. I don't think that any student who was having issues with campus safety, whether it be physical safety or mental safety, should be limited in being able to express those concerns on campus. So putting out some resolution or statement, ensuring that all students can freely express their voice and their opinions on issues of campus safety. I think it is something that would be really important to me. 

BPR: Thank you. So this is a little bit of a shift, but I noticed on your social media, you reposted an article that Daily Bruin published about the value of on campus meal swipes dropping from $9 to $4.33 amidst shifts in staffing. What steps would you take to combat rising food insecurity among students while considering the adjustments that UCLA is making in their dining staffing?

Josh Garland: Oh, yes, that's a really good question. Um, I would love to partner with groups that focus on housing insecurity and food insecurity such as Swipe Out Hunger and invite them to our off-campus housing fair. That way we can make those resources a little more accessible and centralized to all students. Also, I know councils started to do this this year. I would also love to work with the ASUCLA Board of Directors to see if we could reverse this decision with lowering the value of on campus meal swipes, because that will definitely play a role in exacerbating food insecurity. So hopefully, we can actually work with the ASUCLA Board of Directors to reverse that decision. And then also, like I said, expanding our Housing Rent Relief Fund to basically a Relief Fund, that way we can provide more students food and financial security.

BPR: Thank you. With all of your initiatives and your plans to enact if you were elected, what do you anticipate to be the biggest challenge in accomplishing and enacting all of this?

Josh Garland: Probably, I would have to say funding issues. A couple of my initiatives are focused on giving back to student organizations. Something that I really want to do is to re-allocate more of the USAC surplus funds back to funding student organizations, for example, Contingency or BOD. Also something that I want to do is establish a quarterly EAF. We've had trouble doing this in the past because of funding issues. But I really believe that we actually can work around this. I want to invite coalitions of student organizations at a time to host smaller events, for example, the winter we can do on EAF that focuses specifically on culture or professional organizations. So it'd be a little bit smaller, and it'll give smaller clubs a chance to voice their concerns. But yeah, I think funding issues would probably be the most important thing, especially if we're giving more of surplus funds back to funding bodies.

BPR: So for people that don't know what EAF is, can you give a small explanation about that?

Josh Garland: So EAF is something that's hosted at the beginning of the year. Basically, they invite every student organization on this campus to table for a few hours. This gives students a chance to walk around and join different cultural clubs, professional clubs, club sports—anything that they're interested in. And they learn more about the different student organizations that are on campus and what they're recruiting for.

BPR: So what do you think is the main draw [to your campaign] that students should [consider] when deciding to cast their ballot?

Josh Garland: I think experience. I'm the only candidate running for IVP that has an executive role in the office. I've been in USAC for two years. I'm very familiar with their offices and initiatives and how they're run. This year, I helped plan our largest event, which is our off campus housing fair, and that connected hundreds of students with different landlords from off campus  properties. So I'm very familiar with how the office is run. I'm very familiar with USAC, I'm very familiar with how to run our different projects and initiatives that require a lot of planning. And because of my experience, that'll allow me to really develop the office even more since I won't be having to spend time figuring out how to run the office.

BPR:  Just to wrap this up a little bit. What is the main goal that you hope to achieve if elected? What do you want your lasting impact to be?

Josh Garland: I think really making sure that all USAC resources are accessible to students. These are some of the things I've already mentioned that, like I said, directing more surplus funds back to student organizations, I think more student organizations should be able to take advantage of these funds. Also expanding our Housing Rent Relief Fund to make sure that it is more accessible to students, and then giving students that voice in campus safety and making sure that an organization's feedback can be integrated into USAC. As the IVP, I am the liaison between all the student organizations and between USAC and administration. So I really do want to make sure that every student in an organization has a voice within USAC. 

BPR: Thank you so much. And thank you for giving me 20 minutes of your time to do this interview. I really appreciated that. And like getting to know you and a little bit more about your platform.

Josh Garland: Thank you so much for taking the time to interview me. I really appreciate it.

BPR: Thanks, Josh. Have a great day and good luck with your campaign.