Perhaps the best way to represent the dynamic between Santa Clara’s ASG President and Vice President Elect is the yin-yang symbol. While united in their campaign and aspirations for next year, Lidia and Fred embrace the strengths of a duality in their demeanors. Fred is outgoing – with an infectious laugh that trails most of his sentences – well known for pioneering the phrase “cheers mate,” and seeks to improve Bronco spirit next year. Lidia is slightly more reserved, yet possesses remarkable real-world legislative experience to lead our school to real policy change in the coming year.
On their dynamic and goals for their presidency, Lidia states, “we complement each other pretty well, and will be able to tackle all aspects of the Bronco experience.” Fred has two words: “power team.”
As President, Lidia Diaz Fong’s main goal has to do with her job description. “I want to represent the student body completely,” she says. “This is a pivotal year within the University to bring student movement plans into action with the support of administration.”
Lidia is a Political Science and Spanish double major, hailing from Phoenix, AZ. She has two older brothers, and some creatively named pets: a cat named Wonder Bread and a dog named Baby Doll. Her ASG career began freshman year when she was elected as a senator. Sophomore year she applied to the Public Relations branch where she was Marketing Chair, a position on the executive board. Junior year Lidia took a break from ASG – for good reason, though. In the fall she studied abroad in Washington, D.C. where she held a position as a legislative intern for California Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren of the 19th District (San Jose).
It is evident that Lidia’s background in politics has prepared her for an outstanding career as President of ASG. At her internship in D.C., she researched for other staffers and legislative counsels, and attended briefings from various organizations lobbying for support on proposals. Her study abroad experience was not all work, however, she also saw the Pope, toured the White House Gardens, and went to the top of the Washington Monument, all the while falling in love with the city. Additionally, the summer before Lidia’s abroad experience, she interned with the Majors office in San Jose, citing this as an “amazing way to get to know politics at a local level.” Upon graduation, Lidia would like to move back to Washington D.C. and begin a career on “the Hill.”
Although it may seem like these internships sparked the desire for Lidia to run for ASG President, she has always wanted to run and be a leader. “Being on ASG has been one of the best parts of my Santa Clara experience,” she says. “ASG has some of the most spirited Broncos, that’s for sure.”
And perhaps one of the most spirited Broncos on ASG is Vice President elect Fred Feyzi. “It drives me absolutely nuts that you see people wearing other school’s sweatshirts around campus, I want to see pride in our own school instead” he says. Lack of Bronco spirit is the crucial issue that Fred would like to change in the coming year, mentioning various new ways to do so.
Fred’s primary initiative to boost Bronco spirit is instituting Bronco Day, a day completely devoted to simply celebrating being a Santa Clara student. “This is the day you wanna be here,” Fred promises, with activities and food to bring both the on campus and off campus community together. In regards to this ambitious idea, Lidia supports Fred fully, hoping that “since Bronco week doesn’t get a lot of traction, maybe consolidating it into one day will be more effective.”
A variety of other initiatives discussed for boosting Bronco spirit include a Homecoming ceremony for Dick Davey, a former Santa Clara basketball coach who took the team to the NCAA tournament three times, and was just inducted to the hall of fame. Perhaps the biggest issue Fred anticipates is boosting attendance at these events in the first place. However, he has a plan to change that: “by providing off-campus organizations incentives for attendance to spirit events, we can simultaneously boost Bronco pride and improve communication between off campus and on-campus organizations” he says.
“My favorite memory at Santa Clara has to be the Gonzaga game last year,” Fred says. “An impressive group of people were brought together: everyone was hyped, everyone was united. Events like those make you proud to be a Bronco, and I want to create more of them.”
While Lidia always knew she wanted to run for an elected position, Fred began his career in ASG as an Associate Justice (a member of the judicial branch) for his freshman and sophomore year. Junior year, Fred took over as Chief Justice, the leader of the Judicial Branch and member of the executive ASG board, which he claims played a integral role in his decision to run for Vice President.
Some more background information on Fred: he hails from Saratoga, CA and has one younger brother. He is a Computer Engineering major; his response when asked what he would like to do with his degree: “I want to go to Law School,” he says with a straight face (one of the only times he isn’t laughing). Foreseeing a career as a patent lawyer, and hopefully one day mayor of San Francisco, it is evident that both Fred and Lidia have real-world political aspirations. Outside of school, Fred is a DJ legend, even having turned down a position DJ’ing at the Claran.
This dynamic duo is armed and ready to take on the year that lies ahead. When asked about the biggest challenges they anticipate in their presidency, both aim to change the apathy surrounding ASG within the student body. They plan to be more transparent about ASG’s activities, publicize more of its accomplishments, and focus on real policy change in regards to student movements to boost pride in ASG. And I am confident that Lidia and Fred have the perfect combination of experience, determination, and inspiration to do just that. So join me as we welcome them with high hopes for another successful year ahead. Go Broncos! (and cheers mate!)