Since stepping on campus, Jamal Madni said the atmosphere made him feel at home, and since day one he began to find ways to make a difference.
Madni began to pursue a leadership role in the Graduate Student Association early on ““ and though the presidency was not a specific goal, he knew he wanted to give back to the school that gave him so much. Part of his commitment to the university and its students stems from the fact that his father came to UCLA as both an undergraduate and graduate student.
Though Madni received his bachelor’s in computer engineering from USC, he said he has fallen in love with UCLA.
“The people are so warm. I’ve never felt like an anonymous face,” Madni said.
He said his experience here has led him to pursue a way to give back to the community. After serving on GSA’s Judicial Review Board and as chairman of the Associated Students UCLA Communications Board, which publishes the Daily Bruin and other student media publications, Madni said he believes he had garnered enough experience to understand the inner workings of GSA and student government in general.
“I think each of these (positions) has given me a piece of the puzzle of how GSA works and how we can better serve our graduate students,” Madni said. “I feel I’m really in tune with what graduate students need and require.”
His experience is something that Adam Rosenthal, a graduate student representative from the UCLA Academic Senate Graduate Council, said sets Madni apart from other candidates. He said such a personality makes him ideal for the position.
“He’s a hard worker and he takes his responsibility seriously. He’s definitely the best candidate that’s running,” Rosenthal said.
While Madni said he feels GSA has done a good job so far, he said he hopes to improve it by increasing communication between different departments and increasing funding for the Graduate Student Resource Center and Graduate Writing Center. He said the programs are crucial to the student body.
Communication between departments, which students often cite as being nonexistent, is an issue Madni said should be addressed.
Madni added that the lack of current communication doesn’t only exist between departments but also between GSA and other student organizations.
When GSA held its “Rock the Vote” event last Thursday, the Engineering Student Association also held an event during the same time. Miscommunications such as this can divide students, Madni said.
“I think it’s really bad for two types of graduate student events of that scale to be happening on the same day. I think it’s a direct result of the fact that information is not being translated appropriately from GSA to these (organizations),” he said.
The lack of communication and unity between the students may be responsible for the low voter turnout at elections, which in the past has been about 10 percent. Students now vote exclusively on the MyUCLA Web site, which Madni said is a problem.
He said such a system can make GSA more invisible to students and having concrete voting locations would help increase voter turnout. He said he hopes for a 20 percent to 30 percent turnout during this year’s campaign.
The candidate’s ability to build consensus is one the major attributes that former GSA President Brett McCraken, said makes Madni stand out. He said the candidate possesses great leadership and has the qualities needed in a president.
“During that time I have known him to be very conscientious and dedicated to the serving graduate student community. … I don’t endorse people unless I’m confident that they will do a good job in their position,” McCraken said.
Madni began the political slate “Commitment,” with vice president of internal affairs candidate Ryan Roberts, another member of the ASUCLA Communications Board, after realizing that the two shared a common vision for GSA and improving the graduate student experience.
He said they chose “Commitment” as the slate’s name because it was the one word that describes the candidates and their positions on GSA and toward the student body.
“As people we’re very committed to everything we do,” Madni said. “It embodies what we stand for (and) who we are as people. This isn’t something that I want I want to be president for myself. I think that this is more me being president for the UCLA students and this community.”
Whether or not Madni becomes the GSA president will be determined when voting takes place April 15-22, but he says regardless of the outcome he hopes to continue working to improve the UCLA experience.
“We’re already an elite school, but we can always be better,” he said.