Hey everyone! My name is Ashley White (she/they), and I’m very excited to run for a Board Member position in Student Government Board on The Blank Slate. I am a junior psychology major with a minor in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies with a certificate in Disability Studies. I was born and raised in Maryland (Sko Ravens!) but spent a lot of time between there and Philadelphia. Right now, I serve on the Student Government Board as a Board Member and our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion liaison, working alongside our DEI chair. This past year, I got to do a lot in the advancement of DEI work and student experience on campus, such as revamping the Students of Color in Solidarity Ad-Hoc committee, working on increasing transparency between the University Counseling Center and the student body, collaborating with other board members to increase accessibility on campus, and advocating for student workers. I am running for Board Member again to continue the DEI work I started last academic year, to advocate for minority students and their needs, and to increase transparency between SGB and the greater Pitt community.
As a Board Member, I want to continue to work on disability resources, accommodations, and accessibility. As a student with accommodations, I often have a hard time with professors accepting my accommodations and being able to navigate campus. I hope to work on updating academic policies to ensure that professors are being held accountable. Professors should be respecting and following students’ accommodations by giving appropriate time and due date flexibility for bereavement or other extenuating circumstances. I have heard way too many stories of professors completely disregarding a student’s plan or not taking into account that we are people first, and life throws us curve balls we often can’t avoid. I also want to increase transparency between students and professors by having open OMETS, so students can know ahead of time if a professor is the right fit for their learning style or needs.
Continuing with disability resources, I hope to make Pitt more accessible for students with physical disabilities. Pitt must ensure their shuttles are up to date and have the proper equipment to help students with physical aids. As someone who has lived on Upper Campus for two years and often has difficulty getting around, I understand the struggle that is Pitt transportation, whether it be shuttles not running when they’re supposed to run or shuttles so packed it’s almost impossible to get off when you get to your stop.
I also want to place inclusivity spaces on campus for minority students. With a campus as large as Pitt both in area and in student body size, why is it we do not have safe spaces for the varying identities our peers hold? With new buildings being constructed and future planning to update the organization and structure of our current buildings, I want to advocate for more spaces for students to feel safe with members of their community, since student-oriented spaces are lacking on our campus. I aim to create a space for cultural student organization leaders to congregate as a single group hoping to bridge the gap between student groups and administration. Finally, I want to work on increasing the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion grant for student organizations to match the rate of inflation.
Outside of academics, I serve as a Resident Assistant (RA) for First Years in Sutherland Hall (shoutout floor 3!). I also work as a Student Behavioral Associate at Western Psychiatric hospital and volunteer part-time for an Autism Research lab, examining the emotional regulation of preschoolers with and without autism spectrum disorder. I am very passionate about everything I do and always strive to make things better than when I started not just for me, but all people. Growing up, it was instilled in me the importance of advocacy and voice and I take those values into every single thing I do. Using my voice and power to advocate for those who cannot. As a Board Member, I will continue to put students first and use my position to work with the student body, especially those who are not adequately represented. If you have any questions or ideas for other initiatives you want to see me pursue, please don’t hesitate to contact me at acw102@pitt.edu! Be sure to vote for The Blank Slate on election day, Tuesday, February 27!