Presidential retrospective
arizona daily wildcat • wednesday, may 12, 2010 •
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ASUA leader Chris Nagata discusses ups and downs of 2009-10 By Laura E. Donovan ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT For the commencement issue, the Arizona Daily Wildcat interviewed 2009-10 Associated Students of the University of Arizona President Chris Nagata on his term in office. DW: Was the job of being president harder, easier or as much work as you expected? CN: It was nothing like I expected. I think we all have this naïve sense of what the job entails and psych ourselves up for what the responsibilities will be. But I think it’s always really hard to get a true grasp of what your responsibilities, day-to-day schedule and duties will be until you’re physically in those shoes. Was it anything like I imagined? It was everything plus more. It was truly a wonderful experience that I will always be grateful and thankful for. How many hours a week on average would you say that you put in during this time? I worked mornings, afternoons, nights consistently, as well as holidays, weekends, you name it. There was really no downtime within the realm of the office or the roles there. I can’t give an accurate hour amount, but I would say that we were in the office by 8 a.m. at the latest every morning, and it would be a real reward if we could get out of the office by 10:30 at night. That doesn’t take into consideration or account for the phone calls you make outside of the office, the travel, the planning, the correspondence outside of the office, it goes on and on. There are things that you do that are not visible to everyone else, but your body definitely recognizes what you’re putting it through, but that’s what makes the job unique and special.You have to be passionate about what you do in order to put in those crazy hours and to have that much intensity
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Valentina Martinelli/Arizona Daily Wildcat
Former student body President Chris Nagata speaks about his experiences with ASUA this year and his hopes for the future.
for what you do, so it shows the heart and investment and dedication that you have for your position.You wouldn’t be getting up at crazy hours, going to bed at crazy hours or getting no sleep to do the best you could at your job. Was it difficult to balance academics and ASUA? Sure, without a doubt. You are the student body president, so in some sense, you have to remain responsible for your duties as a student, such as performing well and going to class. But you also have to expect that the amount of time delegated to being a student is probably not the same amount that you prioritized it in the first few years at UA. You take a reduced class schedule, you probably take classes that are easier in a sense than in a normal course load, and you try to prepare as much as you can for your year as president. Was being ASUA president something you’d thought about doing long before you ran for president? No, I wish I could say that. I
actually didn’t even think about being president until mid- to late-fall semester of my junior year, and that’s about the time you have to start campaigning. I talked to my parents over Thanksgiving break and asked them if this was something that I could accomplish and could my school life take a pause while I did this. Through thoughtful consideration with my parents and close family and friends, we decided this was something I really wanted to tackle. I’m staying here an extra semester, but I wouldn’t take back the experience of being ASUA president if it meant I could have graduated in four years or three and a half years. The opportunity was there and I would rather kick myself for having done it and have regrets than kick myself for not having done it and knowing that the opportunity was there. What would you say to a student who criticizes ASUA for not doing anything, or not being representative enough? I am really pleased with anyone who has an opinion of
ASUA, whether it be positive or negative, because it shows that they care and are aware and knowledgeable about their surroundings. For our critics who suggest that ASUA isn’t doing its faithful duties of representing their interests, I would say that in order for us to adopt their concerns and viewpoints into our agenda, if they’re passionate about what they say, we’re right there taking the same classes, so pay us a visit, send us an e-mail, talk to us in class. We’re excited to hear the feedback of our students. At the heart of everything we do, we strive to be that representation and be advocates. If we’re not doing a good job, we need to be reminded so we can be in check. I appreciate the critics out there to keep us in line, because if we don’t have that, we’re probably not doing our job. I invite criticism because I’d like to hear feedback to improve as a student organization. NAGATA, page B13
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