The Student Action party released its first four ASUC Senate candidates Tuesday evening in the upcoming ASUC elections

The candidates are campus freshman Charles Peng, campus sophomores Megan Yao and Anjali Jogia-Sattar and campus junior Mahathi Kandimalla. Their platforms represent various communities on campus — including the pre-health, South Asian, East Asian and international communities.

According to Kandimalla, she previously served in the ASUC in the sexual violence and sexual harassment department, among other positions. She now serves as the chief of staff for ASUC Senator Muz Ahmad and external vice president for the American Medical Student Association.

Kandimalla noted that her platforms are centered around the pre-health community, sexual health and student needs. She aims to help students interested in research and shadowing opportunities at UCSF overcome transportation and cost barriers through a shuttle service or transportation waivers. Kandimalla added that she intends to promote sexual health by establishing vending machines for contraceptives and plans to advocate for the ASUC to grant more funding for other student needs, such as expanded library hours and 24-hour student study spaces.

“The biggest problem with the ASUC right now is a disconnect from the student population,” Kandimalla said. “One way to fix that is by advertising through RSOs (Registered Student Organizations) and connecting with RSOs to ensure that we have a strong community going.”

According to Jogia-Sattar, she previously worked in the ASUC Mental Health and Sexual Violence commissions, as well as other South Asian community-focused roles. She currently serves as ASUC Senator Ashley Rehal’s chief of staff.

Her platforms are focused on representing and uplifting the South Asian community, advocating for gender equity in pre-professional fields on campus and supporting students’ mental health, Jogia-Sattar said in an email. She aims to address stigmas in the South Asian community and work with RSOs to secure funding for their initiatives.

Jogia-Sattar added that she hopes to organize career fairs and networking opportunities for female-identifying students in pre-professional career tracks.

“I want to work with students, uplift our voices, and include us in the important conversations campus administration are having,” Jogia-Sattar said in the email. “I want to guarantee those who are traditionally underrepresented a seat on the table and have conversations on our diverse avenues of change.”

According to Peng, he has been working in ASUC Senator Amy Chen’s office as an associate in the community relations department and worked on projects to strengthen the East Asian community on campus. His platforms include representing the East Asian, international and first-generation student communities and promoting student wellness.

As a first-generation college student, Peng said he aims to specifically help first-generation and international students by providing scholarship opportunities, a mentorship network and internship and graduate school application resources. In addition to promoting a safer and more inclusive campus environment, he aims to foster cohesion within the East Asian community by organizing an East Asian Club week on campus to promote club recruitment.

“​​I just want to take more initiative in terms of making my community a better place,” Peng said. “I really believe that being a senator is a good way to do that because I really enjoy talking to people in my community about my platforms and the possible changes I’m going to bring.”

According to Yao, her platforms include strengthening the presence of the East Asian community on campus and improving the international student community’s well-being and mental health. She also aims to provide professional development resources for pre-graduate students and foster community-building among students majoring in social sciences and humanities.

Yao was formerly a community relations associate for ASUC Senator Samuel Peng, a role in which she increased the presence of East Asian clubs on campus. She currently serves as the internal chief of staff for ASUC Senator Jerry Xu. During her time in the ASUC, she noticed a division between different East Asian cultural groups and organizations on campus.

“This disconnection that I observed has really motivated me to make some changes and serve as the bridge between these disconnected Asian groups and clubs so that we as a community can be united again,” Yao said.