Pushing the needle with student governance: a conversation with Juan Vargas Alba

From advocating for public transit to ensuring minority communities have a presence, arts councillor Juan Vargas Alba strives to keep Student’s Council moving forward.

Vargas Alba, a fifth-year political science student, received the 2019-20 Students’ Union Marco’s Governance and Advocacy Award, which honours students whose involvement in governance has tangibly improved communities. 

Vargas Alba got their start in student governance when they became the inaugural coordinator for Stride, a Students’ Union campaign encouraging women and non-binary students to become involved in governance. It was after encouraging individuals to run for governance positions that Vargas Alba decided it was time to walk the talk. 

“It didn’t make sense for me to tell people to run when I couldn’t model that behaviour in some way,” they said. “Modelling that behaviour and practising what I was preaching for so long was really important for me.” 

It was also through his time at Stride that Vargas Alba came to see how marginalized individuals are often systematically viewed in governance: as vulnerable and weak. 

“This whole idea of giving voice to the voiceless — people aren’t voiceless, you’re just not passing the microphone,” they said. “It’s about resources, it’s about respect.”

“Gender, race, sexuality, Indigenity — none of these things take power away from you, they’re things that give you power.”

Pushing the Students’ Union forward

As a person of colour, Vargas Alba has no problem being the individual who brings a dialogue around race to the table, even though it can be a taxing feat.

“I am now very comfortable saying things that make people uncomfortable when I’m calling out structures of power,” they said. “It’s exhausting to always be that person, but I’m very happy being that person, I feel like I have nothing to lose.”

“All the wins to be had along the way are so much better than all the bridges you may burn.”

As the chair of the Students’ Council policy committee, Vargas Alba also sees his position as a chance to push the organization to acknowledge forgotten populations on campus. 

“Policy is a place where we can push the needle on so many things in so many cool ways,” they said. “Having really forward-looking policy moves the needle on important issues for populations that have been invisible.”

Specifically, Vargas Alba is excited to see policy committee bring forth policies such as the “Students with Dependents” policy, which tackles issues such as accessibility to child care. He’s also proud to see the committee work on a Public Transit and Active Transportation policy, which will include advocating for free transit. 

For Vargas Alba, creating these types of policies encourages Students’ Council to be vocal, which to him, is a necessary and protective measure. 

“It’s post-secondary education — if we don’t rock the boat in some way, [it’s a sign] we’re not ready to rock the boat when things do get bad,” he said. “We make ourselves a target by not rocking the boat.”

Overall, Vargas Alba finds that he and fellow councillors have been utilizing their power to make sure the Students’ Union continues to further their advocacy, which is an issue he believes past Students’ Councils have struggled with.

 “Yes, Students’ Council is the [oversight] of the execs, but it doesn’t always operate that way,” they said. 

“Putting pressure on the [Students’ Union] executives to go to the climate rally was huge. We have the ability to put a lot of pressure on the executives and the Students’ Union as a whole to do even better things.” 

For Vargas Alba, an ability to stand their ground will allow Students’ Council to keep pushing the Students’ Union forward. 

“None of the things I’m proud of are things I’ve done alone,” he said. “We’re a good council because we all know together, collectively, what our power is and we all work together to push, even when it’s a little uncomfortable.”