Norah Perkins, a second-year science student, is running to join the Board of Governors on a platform centring sustainability, lowering UBC’s budget and increasing student engagement.
Perkins said she is passionate about the position and wants to better the student experience. She specifically mentioned advocating for increasing affordable student housing by making more units in smaller sizes.
When it comes to experience, Perkins said she has worked for Our Future Oregon — an organization aimed at creating legislation to increase climate education and sustainability in schools.
She also noted that she was part of her high school student government and has been an active member of the UBC community. Despite being new to the Board, Perkins said her communication skills are “extremely valuable” and will help her to collaborate with others and succeed in the role.
On lowering UBC’s $3.8 billion budget, Perkins recognized it may be a difficult but important goal to work towards so “we don't have to raise tuition and try to make sure that [UBC is] still accessible to all students, regardless of financial capabilities.”
However, Perkins did not have specifics on how she would accomplish lowering the budget and acknowledged she lacked budget experience. Despite this, she said the skills she has accumulated should be able to aid her.
“I think it's the principles I learned from those experiences, like what [the budget is] supposed to look like, how you're supposed to manage [budgets] … will help me in places like [the] Board of Governors.”
Perkins also said she wants to use social media more to reach out to students, like posting recaps of meetings on platforms where students can comment and engage with it.
“Building out UBC to the larger community would be a priority,” said Perkins.
When it comes to sustainability, Perkins said she wanted to ensure UBC would be setting themselves up for the future, but also did not have specifics on how she would better sustainability on campus. Perkins did acknowledge sustainability as a goal which UBC would continually need to work toward over time.
When asked about demands for UBC to divest from companies protestors say are complicit in Palestinian human rights violations, Perkins said she believes students should be listened to and would support UBC divesting.
On how she would approach governors who disagreed, she said she does not expect people to change their minds overnight.
“I would expect for them to be open to listening and learning and trying to find where we agree, and working from that,” said Perkins. “It can take time, but trying to come at it with an approach, trying to show empathy and understanding.”
On the whole, Perkins said she loves the UBC community.
“I want to be a part of what made UBC so special for me, for others. And I want to make sure that the community, the campus ... is preserved in a positive way that is able to be passed on.”
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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