As a candidate for SGA president, mathematical biology junior and SGA Senator Jasmine Khademakbari is focused on bringing inclusivity and academic support to students.
Khademakbari and her vice presidential running mate Hiba Rashid are members of the Students Unite party. Khademakbari’s journey to beginning her campaign started as a senator in the College of Natural Science and Mathematics.
“SGA is about having the courage to have that voice, to be the voice for advocacy, to be able to go to an administrator and have the courage to disagree with whatever they’re going to say, and to try to advocate for the student,” Khademakbari said. “And that, to me, is my biggest motivation.”
In the Senate, Khademakbari has co-sponsored and written many bills. These include the Student Transfer Helpful Tip Sheet bill that added a tip sheet about the University to transfer student orientation packets, the Cougar Equipment Sharing Service bill that allowed students who have forgotten lab equipment to borrow some, and more.
“I just really had a passion for being a good citizen,” Khademakbari said. “And when I saw something on campus that I wanted to change, then I would go and try to change it.”
As the Student Life committee chair, Khademakbari also played a role in discussing and voting on other matters such as replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day and adding accessibility to the shuttles on campus.
“I learned how to work in a team of other senators,” Khademakbari said. “A lot of the bills that I wrote, it wasn’t just me who wrote them. I would collaborate with other senators as well.”
Her drive to become SGA president stems from an admiration about what student government can do for campus. Khademakbari believes in the diversity of UH, and she wants to create inclusive and advancing spaces for every student.
Some of Khademakbari’s plans include green campus initiatives, affordable housing and campus safety.
“The majority of us are the people who have been historically underrepresented,” Khademakbari said. “And I think that’s what makes the University beautiful and unique.”
One of Khademakbari’s plans as president would be to hopefully bring CAPS and the provost’s office together to create an academic support group for students.
“It could be like a group setting where people who are going through maybe a tough time in their lives can think about their academics outside of just a therapy setting,” Khademakbari said.
As a leader of Students Unite, Khademakbari has handpicked members of her party she believes show strong leadership, hard work and dedication to want to change campus for the better.
“There was something that I saw in them, whether it was being a student leader from a different org, or maybe they brought a unique perspective in some way,” Khademakbari said.