Campus junior Connor Kubeisy recently announced his campaign for ASUC Senate, running as an independent in hopes of remedying what he considers a lack of politically moderate voices in the senate.

Kubeisy is a political science major and intended American studies double major. He has a background in politics, as he interned for former U.S. Rep. Steve Knight, R-Santa Clarita, was an elected student trustee on the Board of Trustees of the Ventura County Community College District and ran for the Simi Valley Unified School District board in the 2018 general election. If elected, Kubeisy said he will work to increase safety on campus, protect free speech and make the ASUC more accessible to students.

“With the increased threat of active shooters on campus, I will advocate for the administration to increase the number of doors that can be locked on the inside,” Kubeisy said in an email. “With the upcoming 2020 election, it is important to ensure that students can freely advocate for their preferred candidates and issues. I think many students find the ASUC intimidating, so I’ll try to educate them on what it does and how they can get involved.”

Kubeisy is a transfer student, student manager with the UC Berkeley baseball team, a civilian member of the Air Force ROTC, a writer for the Berkeley Political Review and an editor for Eleven: The Undergraduate Journal of Sociology. He is also a member of Hermanos Unidos and Berkeley College Republicans, or BCR. Kubeisy said he plans to use his wide range of perspectives to represent traditionally underrepresented communities in the ASUC, including transfer students, athletes, the ROTC, veteran populations and the politically moderate.

He wants not only to bring in new voices but also to bring an American flag into ASUC Senate meetings.

“Even if students disagree with what is being discussed at the meetings, this symbolic addition can represent the shared values on campus,” Kubeisy said in an email. “This would ideally bring students together and show their shared commitment to the nation, even if they disagree on specific policies.”

BCR External Vice President Rudra Reddy, a former columnist for The Daily Californian, shared his admiration for Kubeisy’s platform. He emphasized his belief in Kubeisy’s ideal of encouraging dialogue between people who disagree on political topics as the right way forward to construct political discourse on campus.

Reddy said he was extremely excited when he heard about Kubeisy’s campaign and believes the ASUC would benefit from Kubeisy’s voice should he be elected.

“When he announced he was running for the student senate, I knew he would be a relentless advocate for all the causes he believes in and I hope that my belief is born out,” Reddy said.