Luis Leonardo Garcia and Max Gouvalaris are filling two of the five seats open for fall quarter
By VINCE BASADA — campus@theaggie.org
Among the new faces that have joined the ASUCD Senate are Interim Senators Luis Leonardo Garcia and Max Gouvalaris. They, along with their fellow temporary officeholders, were hired by the Executive Branch for fall quarter.
Both sat down with The California Aggie to talk about their experience, priorities and plans for what they hope will be impactful, if short, terms.
Photo creds: Vince Basada
Luis Leonardo Garcia
Second-Year political science major
“I really hope to be the people’s senator, to really help other communities, whether that be the Latinx community or just really anyone that wants to open up and talk to me about any ideas,” Garcia said.
Garcia is currently the president of UC Davis’ Puente Club and also works with the Early Academic Outreach Program. He has not been involved with ASUCD student government before but was motivated to take on the temporary position after observing “gaps” between ASUCD and the Latinx community. He also cited a strong desire to have a senate table that better reflected the diversity of the student population.
Additionally, Garcia wants to focus on hosting professional development events, with which he has some prior experience. In a similar tandem, he plans to work on improving outreach and awareness of ASUCD causes and university-sponsored activities.
“I really want to know the students’ needs, and I plan on hopefully soon having ways to reach out to students, seeing what’s needed and what they think could make this campus better,” Garcia said.
Photo creds: Vince Basada
Max Gouvalaris
Fourth-Year philosophy and history double major
“I wanted to try my hand at a broader role within UC Davis,” Gouvalaris said. “I played my part in my little corners and pockets, but trying to represent student needs on a broader, more generalized front is a way that I could really help people.”
Gouvalaris is also new to the senate, though he’s worked in ASUCD/UC Davis-adjacent programs before. He is currently a DJ at KDVS, a manager of the Suad Joseph Lab and has done work with Aggie House and the Davis Journal of Legal Studies.
Motivated and curious, Gouvalaris takes on the position hoping to improve ASUCD relations with ethnic organizations, enhance mental health services and provide support for transfer students. He also indicated plans to introduce legislation on disability justice.
“I hope to advance ASUCD in the most proficient, conscientious and empathetic way possible,” Gouvalaris said. “It serves such a vital role on campus, and to really achieve the goals of the student body and to accelerate the achieving of those goals is something we really need to do — something that we should always be aiming to do.”
Garcia and Gouvalaris are joined as interim senators for this quarter by Noblejot Singh, a fourth-year political science major, and Sabahat Nabiha, a fourth-year political science-public service major. Neither Singh nor Nabiha participated in this piece.
As of time of publication, the fifth interim seat remains unfilled. Full-term senators will be elected later this quarter and are scheduled to be sworn in before the Winter Holiday.
Written by: Vince Basada — campus@theaggie.org
