Anthony Dunbar calls himself a “go-getter.” He
doesn’t just do work in his office.
Instead, the fourth-year doctoral student in information studies
and candidate for Graduate Students Association president goes out
on campus, armed with a camcorder and ready to hear directly from
students.
As the current director of communication for GSA, Dunbar has
worked to represent students’ lives through the media in
various projects over the year, including the Chancellor
“Speak-Out” videos, for which he personally asked
students to express their concerns and issues for UCLA’s next
chancellor to address.
“I want to show graduate students that we don’t have
to wait for progress if we have focused leaders who are willing to
go out and serve the people,” Dunbar said.
Dunbar said his personal philosophy for serving others prompted
him to get involved with GSA last year.
“I thought GSA was the perfect opportunity to refresh my
skills in communications and technology and give myself away to
other people,” he said.
Dunbar said he developed his personal drive and giving attitude
from his mother. She died of cancer in 2001, but her determination
and courage “always set the example” for him, he
said.
Dunbar’s campaign goals focus on uniting the UCLA graduate
student community into a collective political force. He said GSA
needs to help the students become a constituency that will give the
students a political voice loud enough for the administration,
political entities and UC Board of Regents to hear and
acknowledge.
In order to make this happen, Dunbar has proposed a two-step
process.
“First, we need to create an infrastructure by using the
power of Web sites and modern technology. With the Internet, we all
have the power to broadcast, which would bring students into the
community and keep them informed,” he said. “Second, we
need at least a 30-percent voter turnout this year to demonstrate
the students’ momentum. If we want to be taken seriously as a
political force, we need to be respected as voters.”
Last year’s voter turnout reached a record high of 22.77
percent, so Dunbar’s goal would represent a significant
increase.
Dunbar has been a student representative for the UCLA Department
of Information Studies’ Doctoral Procedure Committee and its
student governing board, and a student representative for the
Faculty Executive Committee of the UCLA Graduate School of
Education and Information Studies.
He also recently published an article in the academic
peer-review journal, Archival Science.
Nikki Brown, a second-year law student and GSA Forum
representative, expressed her support of Dunbar, who she said would
be highly qualified as a leader.
“A leader has to see a need and fulfill it, and
that’s what Anthony has done. He puts in more time than
he’s supposed to put in,” Brown said. “He’s
got the most positive attitude, to the extent that when I first met
him I thought, “˜That’s not real’ ““ but it
is.”
Dunbar said he took up the new job of director of communication
with virtually no funds and few guidelines to follow, but said he
has achieved the goals he set at the beginning of the year.
Some of these goals have included getting visual content about
several aspects of GSA on the Web site, compiling the Speak-Out
videos and creating a virtual orientation project to be posted in
May, which Dunbar hopes will help further orient new graduate
students.
“I’ve demonstrated how quickly I can change
things,” he said.
Jamie Keaton, a fourth-year Slavic languages and literature
graduate, met Dunbar while he was filming the Speak-Out videos and
soon became good friends with him. She said that his active
involvement with the graduate community makes him a good candidate
for the presidency.
“Anthony has done a ton of footwork to get people aware of
the issues at hand. Because of the Speak-Out project with the
chancellor, he met a lot of people and knows what graduate students
are concerned about,” she said.
Keaton said Dunbar’s campaign to bring GSA to the students
has been complemented by his honest and dependable character.
“Anthony’s the type of person who, when you get to
know him, he’ll really go out of his way to do things for
you,” Keaton said. “What appeals to me is that he
really does want to see change (happen) and he really wants to see
more involvement.”