Will Klein - Davis Wiki

Hello UC Davis!

My name is Will Klein and I am running for Senate this quarter to make UC Davis the national leader in the environmental movement!

We already have so many good things going for our campus and its environment, but there is so much more we can do. We need to take a pro-active attitude if we are going to emerge as a national model for the environmental movement, and make our UC Davis degree worth more.

As an Environmental Science and Management/Nature and Culture double major, I have seen the incredible desire among the student body to make UC Davis a sustainable university. However, ASUCD does not seem to represent this belief. If we are to make UC Davis a leader, we must begin with the students and ASUCD.

I am running for Senate to stand up for our environment and because, frankly, I have gotten tired of seeing Senators fail to work on behalf of students or follow through with any of their platforms once elected. It is time to move beyond a student government that merely advocates for the status quo, and to a student government that is willing to initiate change for the UC Davis campus.

I believe that ASUCD should be based on the principles of transparency and a respect for its students, its environment, and its future. As a Senator I will work towards ensuring a transparent and accountable government, and I will only support ASUCD decisions that are based on these principles.

Experience

ASUCD Environmental Policy and Planning Commission (Spring 08-present)
Transportation and Parking Academic Advising Committee (Fall 08-present)
Research Lab Assistant in the O’Geen Soils and Biogeochemistry Lab (Winter 08-present)
Intramural Sports Supervisor (Spring 08-present)
Agriscience Fair student co-chair for UC Davis Field Day, a competition held for over a hundred high school FFA groups in the region (Winter 08 and 09)

ASUCD should make it easier for students to make environmentally responsible decisions. The following are some of my ideas on how to do this, but I realize I am only one person. I need your help to make our University zero-waste and as sustainable as possible, and that is why as Senator I will do everything I can to empower student organizations to create positive change for our University.

As I only have one feeble brain, please let me know any and every idea you have on ways to make UC Davis as sustainable and fun as possible!

Platform Issues

Edible Campus

Create more community gardens in addition to the ones at PES and the Mondavi Center
Advocate for fruit trees on campus

Not only would it would be super cool to have fresh food available for the picking between classes, it would help solve our hunger problems between classes and bring the local and slow food movement to UC Davis, a premier agricultural university.

Zero-Waste
Our goal should be to make ASUCD 100% zero waste as soon as possible, and these are some of the simple methods I will work on to do so

Enable students to compost food scraps by placing compost bins around campus, with the eventual goal being the elimination of all trash cans in favor of recycling and compost.
Lobby professors to post readings online instead of printing readers
Create a simple order form to make it easy for student groups and ASUCD units to order office supplies through UCD Buy that are cheaper and more environmentally friendly than current options
Work with Whole Earth Festival organizers to create a reusable cup and plate system for the use of any club on campus as an alternative to paper products
Work with departments on campus to ensure that there aren't any trash cans without recycling bins next to them, especially in science laboratories

Transportation
I want to make it easier to bike and ride the bus by…

Working with Unitrans and Tipsy Taxi to get better late night and weekend service
Working with TAPS to create a AAA-type emergency roadside service program for bicycles
Continue to lobby TAPS for covered bike parking
Continue to work with the Bike Church and Bike Barn to ensure that the usefulness and ideals of the Bike Barn are not lost due to legal technicalities

Ideas

I am a strong supporter of The Green Initiative Fund, which will finance student sustainability projects
Revive the Science and Engineering Committee and use their skills to develop energy efficient technology on campus. The science and engineering community on campus should not only have a voice in student government, but be able to receive funding for sustainable projects that will help the community.

Community

Work with the Entertainment Council to have more musical events on the quad during the day, and to provide more opportunities for Davis musical talents to have a forum to play for others
Increase Club funding to clubs that empower students to act on their ideas to create positive change for the UC Davis campus as a whole
More electrical outlets
Make the ASUCD website actually useful by integrating all of the club, sport events, seminars, and other exciting events into a calendar.

If you want to see a student government that advocates on the behalf of all the students at UC Davis, our community, and our environment, don't forget to vote for Justin Gold and Zaana Hall!

On February 18 and 19 please go to

http://elections.ucdavis.edu

Contact Info
Email: wpklein@ucdavis.edu
Website: http://www.ucact.com
Facebook: Will Klein

Winter 2009 ASUCD Elections
Senate Candidates
LEAD	ACT	Independent
Chintan Desai	Will Klein	Kevin Massoudi
Previn Witana	Justin Gold	Joemar Clemente
Trevor Taylor	Zaana Hall	Burke Rosen
Elle Segal		Jeremia Kimelman
Shawdee Rouhafza	HEAD	Luka Vidovic
M. Momo Newbon	Sanwarl Li
Presidential Tickets
LEAD	Lula Ahmed-Falol / Rebecca Schwartz
Independent	Joe Chatham / Chris Dietrich
Ballot Measures
ERA, TGIF, ICU Act

Comments:

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2009-01-31 16:18:22 Will Klein is a smart kid, we need people like him in our "student" government. —GregWebb

2009-02-08 15:01:36 "Increase Club funding to clubs that empower students to act on their ideas to create positive change for the UC Davis campus as a whole"

How? —MattBlair