Dianya Gao, a third-year international relations and master's of management student, is running to be a student senator-at-large. She plans to represent Chinese student voices to the Senate, a group she believes is currently underrepresented.
“I want to be part of [UBC Vancouver Senate] to study and to gain more knowledge of it, so in this time, I can make my contribution of representing those Chinese student communities,” said Gao.
Gao said in her experience, Chinese students are unengaged with the happenings of Senate and she hopes that she can encourage them to pay more attention. Gao identified the lack of engagement from Chinese students as one of her biggest challenges that would face her both in the election and as a senator.
According to Gao, the main challenge facing Chinese students at UBC is the cultural and language divide between Chinese and Canadian students. To address this, Gao said she plans to hold events that bring two communities together and celebrate Chinese culture.
As UBC’s Senate is responsible for all academic matters, it does not typically throw student events. Gao recognized that as a first-time candidate she may not fully understand what the UBC Vancouver Senate does.
“Even though I don't really have a full understanding of what is Senate, I think I'm on a direction of learning,” said Gao.
Another way Gao believes she could help advocate for Chinese students would be to encourage the Senate to increase scholarship opportunities for international students to help them pay “the huge fee increases.”
UBC’s Board of Governors recently voted to increase tuition by three per cent for returning international students and five per cent for incoming international students. This increase is consistent with similar adjustments in previous years.
Gao additionally suggested implementing some kind of academic competition that would allow international students to win prizes or scholarships to UBC.
She also mentioned helping commuter students by implementing nap pods in libraries, the Nest and the Life Building. However, Senate tends to focus on more academic matters than building operations, so this goal would not be in its purview. Additionally, the AMS oversees the operations of the Nest.
Gao believes that her international relations major and being the president of UBC Face Drama are among the things that have prepared her for the role. Gao said as the president of UBC Face Drama, she has experienced “taking control of students' needs and also to gain support from them.”
If elected, Gao said she would set up a social media account where students could engage with her to help her advocate for their needs. She also said she would want to set up a physical suggestion box on campus so students could submit suggestions.
“I am an immigrant and Chinese student. I’m involved in Chinese culture and Canadian culture. I feel that is my advantage of taking this position."
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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