Oiyan Poon, who is pursuing a doctorate in education, said one of the pivotal moments in her own college education came during her junior year at Boston College, in a town hall meeting with the incoming university president.
Poon said a friend had asked the new president how he would make the college experience more comfortable for students of color but was taken aback when he responded that if they were not comfortable, they should just leave.
“I was shocked to my core,” said Poon, who is Chinese American.
It was at this moment that Poon said her interests in politics, education and advocacy came together, leading her to become the newly appointed president of the University of California Students Association, which is an advocacy group for UC students and is funded by student fees.
Poon was elected unanimously to the position in July at the group’s congress by the external vice presidents from the undergraduate and graduate associations of each University of California campus.
In her new position, Poon said she plans to work on issues of racial equality, university accessibility and lower education costs.
“It really is all about having the entire state population have equal opportunity and equal access to the universities. It’s important to be affordable and to ensure quality education experiences for all students,” she said.
Outgoing president for the group Bill Shiebler said he has been very impressed by Poon and believes she will do her best to advocate for UC students.
“Oiyan has always had diversity and building power for students at the forefront of her agenda, and that’s something I’ve always admired about her,” he said.
Poon is currently working on her doctorate in education and has held jobs at numerous colleges, including George Mason University, the University of Virginia and UC Davis.
At Davis, she held a position she described as “highly political.” After experiencing a number of hate crimes against Asian American students, the university created a joint position between the Asian American studies and student affairs departments to work as a retention coordinator and academic advisor, among other responsibilities.
“Davis was the place I really grew the most. It was trial by fire,” Poon said of her time there, dealing with the hate crimes and other sensitive racial issues on campus.
She then decided to pursue her doctorate at UCLA, where she is currently working on her dissertation on the racial climate at university campuses.
She first heard about the association after getting involved in the Graduate Students Association at UCLA.
“I think students have a lot more power than they realize,” Poon said of her involvement in these organizations.
The coming year will not be without its challenges though, Poon added.
“For me and for UCSA the challenge will be the state budget, fighting against any budget cuts and fee increases for the university. It’s going to be a really tough fight in Sacramento,” she said.
Gregory Cendana, a member of the board of directors for the United States Students Association, a national student lobby organization, said he does not doubt Poon’s ability to get the work done.
“Oiyan is really passionate about making higher education more accessible and affordable for everyone, and I’m looking forward to what she’s going to bring to UCSA and to all UC students in the coming year,” he said.
Poon said she is looking forward to beginning her work as UCSA president.
“I’m definitely most excited about meeting all the regents and getting to know them better, as well as the administrators and the state legislators … and also getting to travel to all the campuses and getting to know the students, what the issues are there,” she said.