VP administration candidates Jai Sodhi, Kevin Heieis and Amy Liao discussed current administrative issues and potential strategies to tackle them during Tuesday’s debate.
Inclusivity, sustainability and increased club engagement were common themes across all three candidates’ responses.
The debate opened with remarks regarding Clubs Day. All three candidates shared the common goal of creating a larger scale, more inclusive and more organized vision for the event.
Both Heieis and Liao expressed a plan to take a “club-centric” approach; Liao by introducing club performances and drop-in activities. Heieis added this would “give students something to enjoy while they're there and help club leaders with their recruitment.”
Sodhi pointed to a need for more sponsors to achieve these goals.
Similarly on club engagement, Sodhi, Heieis and Liao agreed that the best way to strengthen ties between AMS clubs and the administrative office is attending club events and establishing direct ties with executives.
Both Sodhi and Liao described the current relationship between student groups and the VP administration’s office as having a “disconnect.”
Sodhi touched on his own experience as a club executive when his requests to the office were either “ignored” or “put on hold.” Heieis echoed this by expressing that the current underlying system that prioritizes personal connections is “unfair and not equitable to clubs.”
“If the administration is not themselves going out to clubs, knowing them personally, they're not going to be able to get clubs on board to participate in any of their initiatives,” Sodhi said.
Heieis proposed that he will tackle this issue by being “proactive” with clubs and attending a different club’s meeting on a weekly basis to “see what their issues are before they become issues.” Heieis also plans “to introduce a new social media promotion strategy” that includes promotional videos curated by club members themselves, as well as a comprehensive newsletter for upcoming club events.
When asked about CampusBase, Sodhi, Heieis and Liao agreed the platform should be replaced to release some of the administrative burden on club executives.
With regards to the VP administration overseeing the largest staff of all AMS executives, candidates communicated different approaches to group management.
Heieis turned to his experience as president of the Integrated Engineering Council and noted that the key is working with people who share common goals, and using “strategies for ensuring effective timelines” through minute meetings and team management softwares.
Both Sodhi and Liao agreed that prioritizing communication is important. While Liao added that ensuring “transitions in the beginning of the year are gone through” would be her top strategy, Sodhi elaborated that making sure his team shares the goal of collaborating with club executives in-person would ensure that student groups know the office is listening to their requests and issues.
Candidates also touched on the deconstituted relationship between the AMS and the Interfraternity Council. All said that campus fraternities and sororities are a big part of student life and that rekindling communication with them and prioritizing safety within these organizations would be seen through.
When asked about AMS Sustainability Action Plan 2026, candidates did not provide specific initiatives to work on to achieve its targets.
However, Liao noted her role in the AMS Sustainability Action Plan 2026 consultation process, while Heieis said that a “advanced data focused approach to sustainability” was important moving forwards.
Sodhi added that, after seeing the AMS do a lot of work on creating these guidelines, he hopes to support their implementation. This would come in the form of running another Climate Week next year that is supported by better communication between its contributing groups.
“It was a great initiative taken this year, but it didn't reach the right audience. It wasn't marketed correctly. There should have been more information on it sent out to the clubs,” he said.
In closing remarks, Liao reiterated that her background knowledge on current VP admin initiatives would offer a smooth transition into the new administration. Heieis promised “proactive and effective leadership” amidst the Nest’s over-capacity and space limitations, and Sodhi touched on the “lack of school spirit” which needs a leader that goes out of their way to be on the ground.
The candidates will debate again on February 29 at 1:45 p.m. in the Michael Kingsmill Forum.
This article is part of our 2024 AMS Elections coverage. Follow us at @UbysseyNews on X (formerly Twitter) and follow our election coverage starting February 27.