USG campaigns start off with first international candidate in decades

By: Tatyana Woodall

Kicking off the 2021-2022 Undergraduate Student Government campaign season with a digital bang, Jacob Chang, a third-year in psychology and political science and Anna Valerius, a third-year in political science, have announced their run for President and Vice President, respectively.  

Although there are two presidential campaigns on the ballot this year, this season will be the first to host an international candidate in over 50 years. 

Hailing from his hometown of Nanjing, China, Chang said his experiences as a first-generation and international college student led him on a path uniquely qualified to change the status quo. 

“I’m the first Chinese, international candidate in the Big Ten, if not the whole nation,” he said. “I’ll be the first Chinese candidate like ever in this university, which is ridiculous if you think about it.”

Chang said that while the international community has been at Ohio State forever, it sometimes felt like he was just a digit. 

“A lot of things I hear from student orgs are, students like me aren’t supposed to be on the ballot for student government. Like, we’re always worried about surviving, always worried about adapting, getting through the day, we’re too busy to think about what we deserve and what we can achieve with our power,” Chang said. 

As a veteran member of USG, Chang described his decision to run as a way to speak up against a system not meant to cater to individuals, and as a journey to reclaim his identity. 

“I’m scared because I’m up against a system that is against me, but at the same time I’m excited,” he said. “The international community is thrilled to see this happen and all ready to march into battle.”

Like Chang, Valerius is also a first-generation college student and an active member of USG. She said their platform is one based on needs assessment, a systematic process for determining and addressing the kinds of resources students need the most. 

“Making sure people have the resources to do what they need for themselves and also, what that can look like, is sometimes you might be the resource,” Valerius said. “What resources already exist and how can we reposition them to work is really powerful.”

Coincidentally, Chang and Valerius met while petitioning for last year’s winning campaign, before reconnecting over the summer and bonding over a shared passion of service.  

“If you’re not living a life of service, then you’re not living a life,” Valerius said. “Every single thing that you do is a form of service and you have to figure out how you are impacting those people throughout your life.”  

Valerius said the fact that she’s been able to use her role to support the Chinese student population at Ohio State means the world to her and, regardless of the outcome, is happy to have uplifted the community. 

“No matter what happens, the fact that we even got on the ballot is really powerful and a testimony to the work of our team,” Valerius said.