Shayli Patel is a University of Florida third-year economics major. The 21-year-old candidate is running for student body vice president representing the Challenge Party. In Summer 2016, Patel served as one the Hume Area senators for the Access party. Patel has also been worked with the MDCA and has been involved in Gatorship. Currently, she is the Indian Student Association’s director for its Holi festival.
What made you want to become involved in SG?
I’ve actually been involved in student government (SG) before. When I first came to UF, I had heard some things about government from my sister, and I saw just how prevalent it was on campus and the power that it had to create change on this campus and I knew it was something that I wanted to be a part of. So I became a senator with the Access Party the summer after my freshman year. And I kind of saw a lot of the things that went on in student government and felt like it wasn’t really serving the entire student body, and that was something that I really wanted to change. So when I heard that Janae wanted to sort of challenge the way student government had been and wanted me to get involved in her party, I knew that was something I wanted to do.
How was student government not serving the whole student body?
This is something that’s sort of been circulated in the past two years. There’s sort of a system within student government, where people are given positions based on certain affiliations and people who don’t really have those affiliations are left out and a lot of those people are people from minority groups on campus. So they’re not accurately represented in student government, their voices aren’t always heard, and the issues that they care about aren’t necessarily addressed because the people in positions of power don’t really understand those issues in the same way that minority students feel them.
If elected, what could you do as VP that would increase space for marginalized identities?
I think reaching out to those voices and advocating for the issues that they care about is really important. Something that I heard students cared about was getting rid of the legacy of people who have discriminated against marginalized communities in the past that have been glorified on campus.
For example, changing the name of the O’Connell Center is something that a lot of people supported because the man had a very discriminatory racist past. He was very opposed to having Black students at this university, and I just want to take action on those things.
For example, changing the name of the O’Connell Center is something that a lot of people supported because the man had a very discriminatory racist past. He was very opposed to having Black students at this university, and I just want to take action on those things.
The names of buildings being changed is something that has been brought up in the past but people didn’t really want to push for it because they felt like it was too controversial of an issue or it’s just never going to happen. But I’ve been out collecting signatures on petitions trying to spread information about this because it’s something that matters to a lot of students, and I’m not afraid to take action on those things that matter regardless of how controversial it may be.
What are some things that you hope to accomplish that would help the Asian American community at UF?
I think the Asian American community at UF has honestly been overlooked sometimes. I think when we talk about race at UF we don’t always reach out to members of the Asian American community and see what their perspectives are. I think that Asian American students at UF do have a different experience from other groups.
You know, when we talk about racism, it’s important to get perspectives of all different communities. And I’ve been involved with the Indian community here at UF, and I’ve seen that there are issues that students face that haven’t really been vocalized in bodies such as student government because we aren’t represented as much in student government as other people are. I think just reaching out to those communities and voicing their concerns is really important.
I’ve been involved with the Indian community here at UF, and I’ve seen that there are issues that students face that haven’t really been vocalized in bodies such as student government because we aren’t represented as much in student government as other people are.
What are some of the concerns that you’ve seen from Asian American students that you feel like need to be brought up?
Personally, as a member of the Indian community, I have a lot of friends who are Muslim. There have been incidents of Islamophobia that they’ve experienced at UF and that’s definitely something that needs to be addressed.
Another thing, as someone who worked for APIA affairs, I thought that Asian Americans at UF are constantly subjected to different microaggressions, and just a lot of people at UF don’t have the comprehensive diversity education that lets them sees that these are a problem. I think that not just the Asian American community but other minority groups in general would really benefit if students of privileged identities and all identities are more educated on these issues and have more exposure, so that they can understand the impacts of their actions.
For example, talking about a fraternity or sorority, the discrimination that occurs – I know something that we talked a little bit last year in the office was how frats and sororities would have parties where people would dress up as women from Vietnam while other people dressed as soldiers. These things are really problematic but people don’t have the education that shows them that these things aren’t ok, so really putting a comprehensive diversity education into place for all leaders on campus would help address that.
I think that not just the Asian American community but other minority groups in general would really benefit if students of privileged identities and all identities are more educated on these issues and have more exposure, so that they can understand the impacts of their actions.
What made you want to run with Challenge?
Having been involved with SG in the past, I saw that parties that were in place weren’t really working for students. You know, I had talked to a lot of members in the Impact party and members of the Inspire party, and I really felt like the things that really mattered to students just weren’t happening.
When Janae (Moodie) called me up and told me some of the ideas she had for Challenge party, I was amazed. She was saying all the things that people had been too afraid to bring up and talk about for so long and Challenge is really unique in the fact that we’re ready to talk about things and regardless of the controversy that may surround them and we’re ready to take action on these things even when we’re not in that position of power yet.
We have our candidates out there collecting petitions for the O’Connell Center and we don’t even know if we’re going to win, but that doesn’t matter to us. We have this platform and power to organize and we’re trying to use it to do things for the students, and they’re things that matter – not because we’re trying to win an election. Challenge really embodies the values that I find to be important, and I think Janae and Chase both embody those values. They’re really a group of people that I can stand behind.
We have this platform and power to organize and we’re trying to use it to do things for the students, and they’re things that matter – not because we’re trying to win an election.
Did you ever feel like you’ve had to combat stereotypes that people may have held about what it means to be Asian American? If so, what were they and how did you respond to them?
Yeah, I think throughout my life that’s definitely been something. Especially as an Indian woman, I’ve heard so many jokes and microaggressions. Back when I was in high school, I didn’t really saying. I was like, ‘Oh, it’s a joke, let me go along with it; I don’t want to seem like that angry woman.’
I think that, in retrospect, I wish I had … it’s not OK to be making this sort of generalization about people. Even if it’s supposed to be a light-hearted joke, it really does have an impact on people. I think taking those experiences I’ve had in the past, I’ve become involved with a lot of groups on campus that have allowed me to sort of spread that education and take action.
For example, being involved with the Multicultural and Diversity Affairs and Gatorship has really provided me the tools to engage in dialogue with people and to just bring new perspectives to them and help people understand their privileged identities and marginalized identities and how we can all sort of work together and build a UF campus that is more inclusive for everyone.
Back when I was in high school, I didn’t really saying. I was like, ‘Oh, it’s a joke, let me go along with it; I don’t want to seem like that angry woman.’
How important do you think diversity is at UF?
I think it’s incredibly important. I think that without diverse experiences at this campus, we can’t continue to grow and become the great university that we want to be. Everyone has something they need to contribute and everyone has these different perspectives, and we have to make sure they’re all taken into account.
I think for a long time, minority students haven’t had the same voice as other students because this is a predominantly white institution. For example, Black enrollment at UF is much lower than the national average of Black enrollment because these groups aren’t being fought for in the ways that they need to be fought for. Without fighting for them, we’re not going to see accurate representation as a community at UF and how can we claim to be a top public institution that’s serving its students if we’re only serving one particular group of those students. I think making sure we’re reaching out marginalized communities and providing them with what they need without waiting for them to come the people already is power is really important.
Without fighting for them, we’re not going to see accurate representation as a community at UF and how can we claim to be a top public institution that’s serving its students if we’re only serving one particular group of those students.
What advice do you have for new students looking to carve their own identity and navigating student involvement at UF?
I think it’s really important to be aware of the sort of culture that is around involvement at UF. Students on campus often find it so important to be in those fancy organizations and have those titles, but what’s really important is finding that community that makes you comfortable and finding your place on this campus – whatever it is. And if that’s not through some fancy organization or through involvement, that’s OK.
Being at UF is a time for self-growth and a time to be learning. People do that in different ways, and I think there’s so many great communities at UF. If people explore different organizations or explore different areas of campus, that can really help you in that self growth, but just knowing that it doesn’t look the same for everyone is really important.
What has been some of your involvement since you came to campus?
My freshman year, I got involved in the Indian Student Association. I also got involved in the MCDA and the housing department as a resident assistant, and my other big area of involvement has been student government.
Personally what’s important to me is being able to use my time and be involved in organizations that will help me create a impact for those around me, because I sort of learned when I came to the university that I did have a lot of privileges that I could use to help other groups of people. I think that by working in MCDA, I was able to provide education for people and how to build an inclusive campus. I think through the housing department, I’ve been able to provide students with mentorships when they need it. Through the ISA, spreading awareness about issues that affect the Indian community and spreading our culture.
To me, something that is really important is being able to work with a community of people to impact that community of people and UF in general. And, I really hope through the Challenge party, I’ll be able to create that change that we want to see on the whole campus.
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This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
See more of our Q&As with Asian American Students on UF’s Executive Ticket: