Rahilla Tarfa Candidate for Senator Questions: 1. What experience and qualifications do you have? 2. What is your platform? What do you hope to accomplish if you win? 3. What I really want students to know about me is…. ?

Candidate Responses:
1. In relation to my qualifications in leadership, I have served on the SGA senate as a senator and recently a speaker for academic years 2007, and 2008. During this time, I have been exposed to the necessary problems faced by UMBC students and the various obstacles we face in overcoming those problems to reach a solution. I attended a leadership camp for a week organized by the student involvement center of UMBC called Leadershape in January 2007. While there, I was trained in necessary visionary skills for leadership positions as well as handling of power when in position. I also served with the SGA executive board from January 2007 to present as a communications staff member. I have also served on the RSA general body in fall of 2006. While in secondary school I was the Head Girl (Head Prefect) in charge of the junior section. And, when I was in senior section, I served as the General assembly prefect. Therefore, I have held a few posts in leadership and had an idea of the demands and commitment that come with it. I am willing to give this a try at bringing my dream to the UMBC community and speaking up as a voice for the students.

2. My platform: if I win this year’s elections, I will continue to work on what I have started this year. Initially I had come to the SGA with a passion to drive up the faculty-student relationships which I believed would increase student involvement. Although that may be a factor, I have fine tuned my vision to start first with the source: the students. I want to increase awareness amongst the student body of the power they have on this campus. I want to increase student’s awareness of the fact that our UMBC community is ours to grasp and hold, modify, change and make the most of what we want it to be for the future generations. This is what drives me to be in a position to advocate for students and represent them adequately.

3. What I want students to really know about me is that I am just like them. I am in their position, a student juggling classes, friends and a lifestyle around. Yet, I want to impact change. I want to be given the chance to change what students can or cannot do on this campus. I want to be part of the exciting and sweeping change happening everyday at UMBC that is eventually going to get us to where we can look back and say ‘WOW look at how far we have come!!!’ I want to be part of those that brought about that change

Brief Platform Statement:

• Increase student awareness on how to solve the campus issues they encounter.
• Provide a listening ear and serve as a student advocate.
• Promise to stand up to issues that will adversely affect students and be at the front line when student opinion needs to be heard!