By Alex Chen
Harsev Oshan, a third-year international student majoring in Political Science and a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, was elected President of the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) back in April of this year. In our interview, he talks to us about how involvement on campus helped him smoothly transition to UBC. Harsev also gives us a sneak peek into the exciting events that the AUS has brewing for the upcoming year!
Hi Harsev, thank you for coming to chat with us today. Let’s begin with your decision to come to UBC. What prompted you to travel halfway around the globe for university?
Back home in Kenya, I lived on Mombasa Island and was used to living next to an ocean. UBC is conveniently located in Vancouver, which is next to the ocean and I had won an ILOT [International Leaders of Tomorrow] award to come attend UBC.
UBC also connected to students very well. The UBC recruitment team brought in a former student from my high school who currently attends UBC to talk to us about her experience.
How did you adapt to the change?
From Kenya to here?
Yeah.
For me, the biggest change was the environment. I’m used to 30-35 degrees temperatures almost year-round. I was freezing when I arrived, despite Vancouver being the hottest place in Canada.
In first-year, I stayed in Walter Gage North Tower and I used to borrow extra heaters from the front desk just to stay warm in my room. I wore a jacket during my first summer here.
Incoming students, especially international students, often struggle to find a sense of belonging in such a large university. How did you build your support networks?
I was part of Jumpstart [an orientation program for incoming international and as of last year Aboriginal students] and so was able to meet lots of people from all over the world. In fact, most of the friends I made in Jumpstart are still some of my closest friends.
I also took the Coordinated Arts’ Program (CAP) which helped me quickly meet people and discover the involvement opportunities UBC has to offer.
In fact, I joined the UBC Model United Nations Club, the Gage Residence Association, the Arts Undergraduate Society, the UBC Debate Society, the International Relations Students Association (IRSA), and the planning committee for World Model United Nations 2012 [World MUN]. After joining those clubs, I realized that many of my CAP friends were involved in them as well.
I was really branching out into different networks, so naturally I made lots of friends just by deciding to get involved on campus.
Why did you decide to get involved so quickly?
The way I look at it is: “I’m here, so I might as well start making friends and getting with the program.” I like making friends and I like learning about different cultures.
I jumped into things that already interested me. For example, I joined the UBC MUN Club because I had attended some Model UN conferences back in Kenya.
I had also worked as an intern for Nation Media Group in Kenya – An African media house that focuses on delivering media mainly within Central and Eastern Africa – leading me to get involved in campus politics through the AUS.
Did anything surprise or shock you?
There were definitely times when I faced some cultural shocks.
Kenya is a much more conservative society than Canada so I remember being surprised by PDAs [public displays of affection] at UBC. Visiting Wreck Beach the first time was also a shock – you wouldn’t find that back home.
Let’s talk about the AUS. You started as President back in April, how has it been these past few months?
It’s been great, a bit challenging as my executive team is spread out around the world on vacation! We do have bi-monthly meetings though.
Right now, we have a plan ready for execution and we just finished submitting designs for the new Arts agendas (student planners).
Arts Agendas?
The agenda was one of my campaign promises and I’m happy to say that we’ve been able to follow through with it. They are aimed at helping Arts clubs gain visibility as well as helping Arts students stay connected and organized.
Each Arts club is going to get their own page, so that students can find out what each club does as well as their contact information.
In the calendar section, we will include all the events that the AUS and the clubs have planned for the year.
We will hopefully hand the agendas out at JumpStart and during Imagine Day. The remainder will be distributed at events during Arts First Week in September.
What are some highlights for the upcoming year?
The first one coming up is FrAUSh – our orientation program for incoming students.
Then we have Arts First Week, where we will be giving out a lot of merchandise in the Buchanan Courtyard. This will be topped off with the Welcome Back Barbecue on the Friday and a first year dance
For the Welcome Back BBQ, we are going to bring in two local bands to play in the evening between 7-9pm. From 9pm to midnight, we are going to launch our monthly beer gardens – aptly called “Radical Beer Fridays.”
We are also going to have a referendum attached to the elections, now pushed back to February. And of course we should not forget about Arts Last Lecture. We brought in George Strombolopoulus last year. This year we are looking at bringing in an inspirational figure.
What will the referendum be about?
By the end of this year, we will have used some of the surpluses on renovating MASS. Spending has not been sustainable and it will not be fair for future AUS councils. The referendum is going to index student fees to academic and education CPI. We haven’t raised student fees for the AUS since 2001.
We are also looking at building an exclusive centre for Arts students – similar to the Abdul Ladha Science Student Centre or the Engineering Student Centre that is currently under construction.
How do you think the AUS can increase its presence in the Arts community?
One of the ways that the AUS has failed in the recent years is by not engaging with clubs and students enough.
To improve this, I’ve asked my executive team to leave two hours open every Friday afternoon in their schedule to hold “office hours” in the Meekison Arts Student Space (MASS). We are here to serve students and to connect more with them.
Another thing is improving the quality of our events. Last year the AUS did an amazing job with branding, but event attendance was low. We want to change that. We want to work with our clubs to branch out to our constituents and inform them that we are here to serve them.
Do you have any advice for incoming students?
Get involved. At any level – from attending events, to volunteering, to running for student government. There are so many opportunities in Arts and on campus. Whatever you do, just get involved.
Thank you very much for the interview Harsev Oshan and best of luck with upcoming year!
At the Faculty of Arts, we are committed to featuring outstanding Arts undergraduate students. If you know of an Arts student who has an inspiring story, please nominate him or her to be featured in an article. Contact us at cass.comms@ubc.ca.
