Ananya Gupta is running for AMS VP academic and university affairs (AUA) on a platform focused on student constituency engagement, food security initiatives, and the implementation of universal design for learning (UDL) principles at UBC.
The fourth-year psychology major and family studies minor currently serves as the VP academic for the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS). Gupta said her experience in student government, including three years in the AUS and work with other undergraduate organizations like the Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference, makes her well-equipped for the role.
Gupta said her first priority would be to increase engagement with UBC’s various student constituencies, building on work started by previous VP AUA officeholders.
“This role requires a lot of advocacy and connections,” Gupta acknowledged, and she emphasized the importance of “making sure that all VP academics of all constituencies, and even the GSS ... know exactly what they need help with.”
If elected, Gupta’s second priority would be advocating for food security by building connections between food banks, community kitchens and campus dining services to reduce food waste and ensure student access to affordable food.
“I aim … to collaborate with the culinary directors of all three campus dining kitchens to prevent the wastage of food that they usually have on a regular basis,” said Gupta.
Gupta also wants to push for the adoption of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles across faculties.
UDL principles suggest creating learning environments that offer multiple ways for students to access information, engage with study material and demonstrate their understanding, ensuring all learners can participate effectively regardless of their abilities.
“This will help students who are registered with the CfA [Centre for Accessibility], in turn, lessening the load on CfA advisors … [since] the ratio of students to advisors shows a huge gap between the two,” she said.
Each CfA advisor currently supervises 380-400 cases, and UBC communities have reported issues related to the CfA’s lack of capacity.
When asked which endeavours she would continue from the current VP AUA office, Gupta highlighted meetings with the academic caucus as a valuable initiative. However, she criticized the allocation of funding for the AMS Textbook Broke campaign, saying some constituencies contributed far more than others.
On housing affordability, Gupta said she would advocate for increased bursaries, and said a large portion of UBC’s land is being developed for housing that is not student-oriented.
For context, UBC’s Housing Action Plan aims to increase the portion of future below market faculty/staff rental housing to up to 25 per cent (from 20) and market rental to up to 15 per cent (from 10).
“The monetary aspect should not be the only reason somebody may not be able to attend UBC,” she said.
Gupta acknowledged that advocacy itself is a challenge, given the difficulty of securing meetings with decision-makers, but she didn’t specify how she would address that challenge.
If elected, she plans to continue engaging students through surveys, workshops and informal networking events with professors.
Gupta is running against incumbent Zarifa Nawar.
This article is part of our 2025 AMS Elections coverage. Follow us at @UbysseyNews on X (formerly Twitter) and follow our election coverage starting March 3.
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