nicole FOR SENATE

Hi, my name is Nicole Anyanwu! I am currently second-year pre-med from Dallas, Texas pursuing Public Health with a BioE minor here at the University of California-Berkeley. Health is extremely important to me and is often taken for granted on this campus, and that shouldn’t be the case, and in response to that, I am running for the health of our students.

I aim to address varying campus issues through the lens of health- with a focus on fostering inclusivity, accessibility, and retention in pre-medical programs and organizations on campus, providing all survivors on campus with timely and adequate care, in addition to further resources and support, and improving the campus’ overall physical and mental health, by expanding food security programs, addressing issues with accessibility to Tang along academic stress & anxiety, promoting physical wellness, and making sure that students are properly accommodated and sustained here on this campus.

I would like to opportunity to turn the narratives of students, in addition to that of my own, into experiential knowledge that can be paired with both organizational and institutional knowledge. 

I have served as External Community Outreach Director for the AAVP Office of Melany Amarikwa*, was appointed to serve American Cultures Academic Committee as an ASUC/Student Body Representative*, and was a founding member of the AAVP’s Inaugural Diversity & Inclusion Department*. I have worked tirelessly to provide resources and student programming on campus, have been proactive in volunteering and organizing campus wellness campaigns and programs, and have forged relations with top professionals, companies, and non-profits in the Bay Area in efforts to close the student opportunities and support gap.

I am running with CalSERVE due to its track record with diversity and inclusion, and its unapologetic nature in its concerns about the campus climate, the environment, affordability, basic needs, student voices, and activism both in and out of the classroom. Join me and together we can #BuildAHealthierBerkeley 

 

Pre-Health Community Resources & Support

  • Creating a Pre-Health Hub on Campus

    • Meeting with campus administrators and pre-health organization leaders to emphasize the need for and to develop the creation of pre-med collaboration space/study hub on campus to encourage cooperation amongst all campus pre-meds, allowing for a space for pre-meds to meet on campus and to attain support and resources.

  • Uplifting Minority Groups in Health

    • Building location partnerships and ASUC Funding to provide Additional Monetary Support for the Minorities In Health Conference, Highlighting to Campus Administration the Imparity in Increased Funding & Support for Pre-Health/Pre-Research Related Programs and Organizations for Minority Students, & Working With University Colleges, Campus Leaders, and Administration To Discuss Ways to Increase Minority Representation and Retention in Pre-Health Related Academic Programs, Research, & Pre-Health Council

  • Establishing a Pre-Health Opportunities Bank

    • Creating an extensive and digitized opportunity bank full of 1000+ already collected research opportunities, scholarships, internships, post-bac programs, and programming for all pre-health students, especially those traditionally underrepresented and/or non-traditional.

  • Improving Resources & Support for “Non-Traditional” Pre-Health Pathways, Majors, & Students

    • Expanding Pre-Health Peer Advising to be more diversified and to include a variety of majors outside of the traditional MCB/IB Scope. Utilizing Institutional Equity Organizations to provide more support for those pursuing Post-Baccalaureate Programs, Taking Gap Years, or working towards Grad School/Joint Medical Programs. Lastly, partnering with UCSF & Pre-Med Advising to create workshops for Applying To & Financing Medical School/Grad School for First Generation, Low-Income, Non-Traditional, and/or Minorities in Health.

Sexual Violence/Harassment & Intimate Partner Violence/Abuse

Increasing Comprehensive SVSH Training/Programming

  • More Enhanced & Thorough Situational Training

    • We have seen increased instance of sexual assault taking place in registered student organizations (RSOs) and on-campus living, in addition to instances in the Greek Community, and in efforts to better equip groups and leaderships for such instances, I would like to partner with Path to Care to push for more effective programing and training for campus RSOs, for RAs, Health Workers (HWPs), and during the Golden Bear Orientation.

  • Addressing Environment, MisInformation, and Campus Mentality

    • We want to support survivors no matter when and where their experiences took place, in addition to uplifting and supporting male, POC, and trans survivors as well. I want to fund and partner with Path to Care to utilize the My Voice Survey and survivor experiences to launch a social media campaign for the promotion of the center and its resources and to open the campus up to a larger conversation on consent.

    Strengthen SVSH Resources, Partnerships, & Programming

    • Addressing Issues with OPHD Process

      • Push for more transparency in the OPHD Process and promote the hiring of more diversified staff of CROs/Investigators for unbiased work on OPHD cases.

    • Streamlining of Tang Resources For Survivors

      • We need to support survivors- and the manner in which I aim do this is to continue work to expand the already existing survivor group at Tang, to support and aid in the final developments of the SVSH Healing Circle at Tang, to work to increase immediate survivor accessibility to counseling and external professionals via Tang, and promotion of free resources at Tang Center (ie. SHEP).

    • Normalizing Healthy Relationships & Mindfulness

      • Founding a “Real Talk” Program to have conversations amongst the larger Berkeley community about intimate partner violence and abuse, relation boundaries, toxic relationships, and mindfulness for self and others.

    • Leveraging Partnerships with Local Organizations

      • Formulating formal partnerships with local SVSH organizations such as Bay Area Women Against Rape (BAWAR), Alameda County Family Justice Center, and the Family Violence Law Center to provide pro-bono legal advising for OPHD cases, in addition free external confidential advocates and free mental health resources; in addition to partnerships with Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) who help connect survivor’s with legal help, lawyers, and counsel for pursuing Title IX related lawsuits.

Food Insecurity & Wellness

Combating Food Insecurity

  • EBT Credit Acceptable @ Cal Dining Locations*

    • Some students are on campus all day, and need accessibility with affordability in terms of accessing meals on campus. Sometimes students go the whole day without a meal, or skip meals due to the desire to save money or stay on campus, and that can be changed with Cal Dining locations* (Bear Market, GBC, & Cub Market) accepting EBT. The main caveat is that EBT cannot be used on hot foods, alcohol,cigarettes, pet food, paper products, medicine, or household supplies, but these locations do present pre-packaged foods and cold food which are eligible.The goal would be to institute a sticker labeling system system for EBT eligible foods to allow access and knowledge of eligibility without stigma.

  • Socioeconomic De-stigmatization of Food Security Resources

    • More CalFresh workshops for awareness for eligibility amongst middle-class & work-study eligible students (getting more eligible students signed up), in addition to lower-income students

    • Expansion of Food Pantry Resources

      • Using ASUC Grants, in addition to community and corporational partnerships, to build upon donations to allow for additional options and resources for food pantry and food security not only for those who are low-income & middle-class, but also those not traditionally eligible for CalFresh

        • Undocumented Students & International Students

    Promoting Physical & Mental Campus Wellness

    • Addressing Academic Stress/Anxiety & Campus-Wide Nutritional Health

      • Promote Cal Food For Thought’s Emotional & Food Literacy Courses to address academic anxiety/stress management & nutritional learning. Use platform to increase their visibility, linking these programs with Tang associated health campaigns, and increasing class times, funding, and programming via ASUC Grants.

    • Cal Rec Sports, Under Armour, & Cal Social Good Health Partnership  

      • Fitness and exercise have been proven to have a significant impact on one’s mental and physical health- and Cal Rec Sports & Under Armour’s Spring Into Fitness, Miles for Meals, and Cal/UA Giveback Challenges encourage and emphasize the need for students to be active, while also giving back to Basic Needs resources, such as Food Pantry. We want to utilize the platform of the ASUC to increase visibility for such programming along with the Cal Social Good, to strengthen ASUC involvement with such initiatives, to take advantage of the school’s partnership and sponsorship with Under Armour, and to ensure that an event and/or event(s) like these definitively become (an) annual occasion(s) to which students look forward to and are willing to participate in each spring.

    • Addressing Campus Mental Health

      • Advocating and having critical discussion with Tang to urge the onboarding of a greater amount of Tang counselors, especially those more diversified (racially/ethnically, socioeconomically, sexual-orientation, gender-identity wise, etc.)

      • Collaborating with administrators for drive for the extension of hours at Tang satellite locations across campus, in order to accommodate the needs for all students who wish to be seen in a timely manner

      • Working for the continued expansion the Tang Center’s Health Opportunity Fund (HOF), which can be utilized by the students who qualify to cover health-related costs.

    • Disabled Student’s Program

      • Pressuring administration and working to attain more funding for the Disabled Student’s Program (DSP) in order to better support student services, proctoring availability, and the streamlining of the DSP application process.

Qualifications

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