Armando Antonio, vice president elect and Esmerada "Vita" Blanco, president elect, sit down for a Q&A with the VanCougar. (Photo courtesy of Vita Blanco)
In wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Associated Students of WSU Vancouver are working to provide students with resources to help them get through these uncertain times. With the 2019-2020 academic year coming to an end, ASWSUV President and Vice President, Esmerada Blanco and Armando Antonio, have started to initiate preparation for their upcoming leadership positions. Both the president elect and vice president elect are integrated strategic communication majors, Blanco heading into her junior year and Antonio his senior year. The two discussed their future plans and present actions in response to the pandemic.
Q: How does it feel to be the ASWSUV president elect and vice president elects for the 2020-2021 academic year?
A: “Awesome. We are celebrating from a distance, you know, it is crazy to think we are here. With everything [happening] so fast, and then with the coronavirus, it still has not sunk in yet,” Antonio said.
“Definitely, It is very exciting. It has not hit me though yet. There is an excitement, and a joy, and then I have to say the whole coronavirus, it’s just, I love people and it is affecting all of our friends and loved ones and neighbors. So, when I think of that, there is that slow motion that kind of comes into play,” Blanco said.
Q: What are you looking forward to most as representatives for a greater student body, even during a challenging time such as now?
Students volunteering to put OSI Care Packages together on campus to offer aid to students. (Photo courtesy of Vita Blanco)
A: “There is food insecurity, clothing insecurity and money, the housing insecurity that just got magnified by 100. I think our focus [is] students first and listening to their voices. We just want to amplify their voices, especially during this time,” Blanco said. “I strongly believe that our world has been so backwards with things. I believe that empathy is missing in this world and that is where I think it hits home for me. In our atmosphere, in our environment, what can we do to hear people out. Next year is going to be very important to provide students with a sense of belonging on campus, because everything else in our lives is crazy. It is only, I imagine, going to get more crazy. So if we can provide and help provide a place where students have organization, structure, no need to feel [bad] about anything. Know that we will have food, we will have clothing, we will be there to listen to them, we will be there to support them and motivate them,” Blanco said. “I think it is really important to have that sense of community going through the unknown, we are all going through this together, so let’s actually be together.”
Q: If implications of COVID-19 extend into August, how are you planning to keep ASWSUV stable and accessible to students?
A: “As of right now, we are not losing our jobs, which we are very grateful for. We are able to continue being [there] for the students, and by working together online, we are doing our due diligence,” Blanco said. “If it continues through August, we will definitely be ready, because that is what we are doing already [online], and we have so many more ideas other than the care packages. We are waiting hour by hour, day by day, getting work permits, making sure that we are doing social distancing. We can still get a group of four to six of us to still go shopping for food for care packages … It was such an honor and a privilege to show that actionable kindness to people, again me and Mando, we hit the ground running.”
“Now more than ever it is vital to have communication and really give all the information to the students, to the faculty and the community. By doing that, we reassure them that everything is going to be okay. We are all in this together, and [say] ‘here are resources that you can use, so pass them along,’” Antonio said.
Q: What is the first thing you are trying to implement as leaders of ASWSUV? Have any of your plans changed due to COVID-19?
A: “I think first and foremost, we need to see what the school year is going to look like. There is still a lot that we do not know, everything could be fine or everything could be bad. I think we need to focus on that [by] asking the students, ‘what do you need?’” Antonio said. “We really need to assess everything and then go from there. What needs to be done the most? Food, the sense of financial security, mental health and really go full force on those.”
“Another thing is just assessing, hearing where students are at right now. Right now I am hearing students say they cannot focus [with] an online curriculum changing, syllabi changing,” Blanco said. “[Or] their parents lost their jobs, their grandparents, or they are scared and concerned … I am also hearing students say they are having issues with their laptops and computers, so when you have all of that, what are we really focusing on? The student as a human being, or their grades? Success cannot come if you do not have your basic needs, we can all see it, the world is seeing what really matters. So hearing and assessing, listening to students is just going to be that much more magnified.”
Q: Overall, how do you think your presence as president and vice president will change WSU Vancouver for the better?
A: “Who I am as a person and to the core of my being, I love people. Showing kindness, compassion, empathy and love, that to me is more powerful, that overcomes so much in a time that we are going through right now,” Blanco said. “We often forget what really matters, and so I am able to bring that into perspective as not just being a first-generation college student and coming back at a later time in my life. I also have an adult daughter and a teenage daughter. Bringing that aspect and that experience that I have gone through, overcoming [adversities] and those challenges. The reality is, I am not the only one, there are so many of us walking that way. Really hearing somebody and looking at a student in the eyes and saying, ‘how are you really doing?’ is what we can do to bring change.”
“Going on with Vita, [we] are very much built around being known, being there as those presidents who are there for the students who you can count on and rely on. We also noticed there is a little gap between administration and faculty and students, and I think if we could strengthen the gap, that makes things easier in the future,” Antonio said.
Q: Are there any training opportunities for you over the summer to establish your positions? If so, what are you doing to prepare before fall semester?
A: “We were given some dates and times for some really exciting stuff like flying out to Missouri, I think, and Pullman. But, everything started to pause. We do plan on meeting one-on-one with our predecessors, Anna and Davina, and then all coming together,” Antonio said.
“Just like Mando said, we were given, that night, we were given the honor of president and vice president. We were so excited, and heard of some dates coming up … Going to Pullman [was one], and we were like ‘wow we get to go to Pullman.’ I was excited about that because we have never been, but we want to go … As of right now, all that is paused because of the coronavirus. But looking at it, it is going to work out whether we get to go or not, there are bigger things at stake. I am sure we will have the opportunity later,” Blanco said.
Blanco and Antonio hope to support the students of WSU Vancouver, even if it has to be done from a distance. If you or someone you know is in need of an OSI care package, visit the Cougar Food Pantry request website, or contact the Office of Student Involvement.
