A third-year undergraduate student in political science and a University Neighbourhoods Association (UNA) resident from Hampton Place, Sofia Ngieng believes she will be able to represent the interests of both UBC students and families living in the UNA on the Board.
If elected, Ngieng has three main goals: she wants to increase the amount of affordable housing in the UNA, increase community safety and push for more transparency.
On affordable housing, Ngieng said she wants land to be developed in the “best way possible.”
“Making sure that we're pushing for affordable housing, and increasing housing available to students as well as other residents is extremely important,” she said.
Ngieng said she also wants to ensure that “everybody feels safe in the community that they're living in.” She added that she plans to work with “relevant stakeholders” to make sure the community is safe.
On transparency, Ngieng emphasized the need for UNA members to be engaged with the UNA. “I want to commit to transparency. And I want to be able to reach out to everyone living in the UNA — including students,” she said.
Ngieng also wants to push for more green spaces in the UNA as part of her focus to improve sustainability initiatives. “My neighbours … want to see those green spaces continue to be maintained and grow … [because] it is what makes UBC and … living in the UNA so special,” she said.
Based on the overwhelming support across Metro Vancouver for a SkyTrain extension to UBC, Ngieng, if elected, said she will be pushing for the project and the advancement of other transit solutions that serve UBC’s larger community.
As a student herself, Ngieng said it’s important to reach UNA student members on the platforms they use most.
“The UNA has not done a good enough job at making sure that students are engaged with the UNA Board. We need to make sure that we are utilizing all of the possible outlets to reach out to students such as social media and other media platforms to make sure that everybody is in the loop as well.”
This is part of The Ubyssey’s coverage of the UNA election. We’ll be covering the candidates, the all-candidates forum and all things UNA until polls close on November 30.