Anna Beth Frazier is a sophomore majoring in criminology & criminal justice and accounting who currently serves as a Barefield College of Arts and Sciences Senator and leads the student affairs committee. She is running uncontested to be the vice president for student affairs.
Q: Why is it that you’re running for VP of student affairs?
A: When I first stepped onto the campus while I was touring, the student life is what I noticed first. It makes this campus so special. Serving as a student affairs committee head for the SGA Senate this past year, I have realized how valuable it is to build connections with students, organizations and the community of Tuscaloosa. I want to run for vice president for student affairs because I want to continue to enhance all that makes student life so vibrant and memorable at the University.
Q: Why do you think you are the best candidate for the position?
A: I have served in SGA as a first year councilor and as a senator this past year, while also leading the student affairs committee. I have worked with many organizations throughout this past year and have realized how valuable those connections and opportunities are. I want to focus on reaching every student from every part of this campus and ensure that they have the opportunities to enhance their time at Alabama, while also focusing on their future and giving them all the resources they need to succeed.
Q: What are your campaign’s key platforms?
A: My platform is focusing on student experience, campus connections, opportunity growth and student preparedness.
Q: What two specific initiatives do you want to accomplish, and what time frames do you hope to accomplish them in?
A: The platform point that I introduced today was campus connections, and under those I have two initiatives. The first one is SGA-sponsored volunteer hours. As soon as I get into office, I would like to work to opening up a resource that allows students to volunteer with SGA events, whether that’s tabling or community service, to get those registered volunteer hours. And we do a lot of work within the community of Tuscaloosa, so I feel like this would be a great opportunity to not only get students involved in SGA, but also in the city of Tuscaloosa.
I’m also wanting to introduce campus collaboration days, which will happen throughout the whole entire year, whether that’s in this fall or the spring semester, which will pretty much encourage different organizations to work together through different percentage days, tabling events and just get their mission out to the student body.
Q: How do you plan to adapt if your initial plan for achieving these goals doesn’t go how you hope?
A: I think that there’s a very good way to go about that. I think that adaptability is one of the main things that as a student leader you need to learn. Throughout my time as the student affairs committee head, it has been a valuable asset for me to learn from my peers and from the leaders that I have worked with. I think that I want to bring professionalism, accountability and transparency to this position. So once again, I think that just keeping the position transparent and making sure that the students know what I’m working on and what they need is going to be key to success in this position.
Q: Your position this year is uncontested. Knowing this, how will student voters be able to hold you to your campaign promises?
A: I think that, once again, I’m running on a platform for student experience, campus connections, opportunity growth and student preparedness. I’m still putting out all of those platform points and the initiatives under them. I hope that when student voters look into my campaign platform points, they understand that I’m still putting in the effort and the ideas into all that can make this role so important. I’m still wanting to achieve and get all students to understand that the student life on this campus is what makes this campus so special. I think that my platform points show that in the way that I have worked almost to improve every single corner and aspect of student experience, whether that is academics, social or professional.
Q: What experiences have you had on campus that you believe will help you in your role if elected?
A: I, this past year, served as a senator for the SGA, and I had an initiative called Changing the Tide, which is a semesterly tabling event in partnership with an organization to help the betterment for student life. The fall event I worked with was End Overdose. Learning how to collaborate and make a successful tabling event was something that I was able to grow and form experiences from.
Q: How do you plan on ensuring equal opportunity amongst students, regardless of their various backgrounds?
A: I think that is really important. Once again, I’m working to improve student life among every single part of campus. I’m wanting to make sure that they have equal opportunities to succeed academically, professionally and socially. Like I mentioned before, SGA-sponsored volunteer hours is going to be one of those efforts to work towards all students having an opportunity to get involved on campus, but also within the community. I’m also introducing an initiative called the Equal Point Allocation Policy, which will pretty much allow for CWE points to only be allocated to one organization, allowing students who are a part of multiple organizations to focus on one, and there won’t be as much overlap within the point system.
Q: In what ways will you better relations between students and faculty/the UA administration?
A: One of the initiatives I’m also working on is officer training toolkits. So these will allow organizations to work through My SOURCE to get faculty and previous student leaders to see their information, what they did, their advice to the new student leaders that will help connect the student leaders and students to the faculty that has experience, as well as other previous student leaders that have advice for those students that are moving up to those positions. This will help the relations between students and their leaders and the faculty by giving them advice and opening up that conversation for growth.
Q: Last year, there was a lot of controversy with block seating. The Judicial Board found that the previous student affairs VP did not follow proper procedure in presenting a ranked map for block seating at interest meetings. How will you work to ensure a smoother block seating process?
A: Once again, I think that transparency, professionalism and accountability is so critical within this position. I cannot speak on the 114th administration, but I know that going forward, I want to make sure that there is a lot of transparency in all that I’m doing. That clear communication will be happening between advisors, the board and I, and I feel like that is going to help improve and make a smooth transition into the new year with new block seating.
Q: What’s one last thing you want voters to know about you?
A: Student life is so extremely special on this campus, whether it’s game days, whether it’s academics, there’s so much to be gained from one’s time at Alabama. I want people to look back on their time here at the Capstone with fondness and enjoyment, and I feel as though focusing on student experience, campus connections, opportunity growth and student preparedness will allow for students to enhance their resources and opportunities to fully succeed. I hope that on Feb. 24 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on MyBama, they will choose to achieve with Anna Beth.
