Ever since stepping foot on Mayagüez, Gerald Segarra wanted to help the university community and one day represent them in some way. Right now in his junior year of Political Science, there isn’t much left that he hasn’t accomplished and hasn’t left his huella colegial. Starting with his second semester as a freshman, he collaborated with UNUM/UBER SOCIETY recruiting Precalculus 1 and 2 tutors for any student. A year later, Segarra was elected Student Representative in Services for the Student Comittee, which is a step below the General Students Council. A fruit of his work that we can see now is the water fountains with filter proposed by Campus Verde.
Another regulation he helped implement was in regards to Work and Study so that a student was chosen completely at random “so students have better chances of being elected.” Another opportunity Segarra seized was volunteer work, sponsored by AIESEC. Working with special needs communities in Bogotá, Colombia he worked alonside Bogota Humana in environmental projects. As Conjecal por Artes in the Arts and Sciences Faculty Council, he managed to be president of Student Associations Comittee and worked among other groups to unite associations with the CEFAC.
Segarra expressed his reason for running for Arts Senator was to “represent my peers from a position where I can present my proposals and have greater possibilities of making them reality.” Being part of the Academic Senate means being able to make decisions applicable to UPRM. Segarra explained how, because of this, “we need the best academic senators for our campus. People with experience, compromise and responsible.”
Segara’s objectives upon being elected are to require the Arts and Sceinces Dean to provide a bigger gallery for the Humanities’ department Art Gallery so that art and culture can be promoted on campus, to continue collaborating with the evaluation committees for the Art Department’s strategic plans where the student association’s participation will be included, and to work towards institutionalizing the First Work Experience program, among others. A full list of Segarra’s proposals can be viewed on his Facebook page.
Segarra asserts how his commitment “with the University is genuine in which we must maintain the right to education for all young people in our country. The UPR must be seen as a social good instead of a mere economic one.” He continued explaining how the UPR must be a paramount of economic development in Puerto Rico thus providing the necessary resources to lift citizens from this crisis. “Enough with the unnecessary cuts to our education system that is UPR because they have already cut $338 million before the Board arrived. We will not accept further cuts, for they would degrade and destroy the University by leaving it without the necessary funds to accomodate the young people of our island.”
“The UPR must remain accesible and get better for future generations. Today, it’s you and I. Tomorrow it could be our children.”