Editor’s note: This is one installment in a three-part series on this year’s candidates for ASUC president. Read about the other candidates here and here.
After watching her community face a “genocidal threat, physical and mental harassment and isolation,” ASUC presidential candidate Khwal Rafique decided she wanted to help alleviate the pain that marginalized communities feel on campus.
Rafique is a sophomore studying legal studies who currently serves as the director of the Middle Eastern, Muslim, Sikh and South Asian, or MEMSSA, student association, internal director of the Muslim Mental Health Initiative and an undergraduate representative on a chancellor’s committee.
Independent candidate Khwal Rafique runs for ASUC president
Khwal Rafique, a UC Berkeley sophomore, is running independently for ASUC president on a platform rooted in the “ABCs”: accessibility, belonging and connection.
Rafique, who became involved with the ASUC upon entering UC Berkeley, is passionate about uplifting the voices of all communities, increasing transparency and promoting mental health in the campus environment. Her experience as chief of staff in the Middle Eastern, Muslim, Sikh and South Asian ASUC Senate office particularly shaped her perspective on community issues.
“As I meet with student leaders to hear what they feel the most frustrated about, I keep hearing about how many times student leaders on campus have to do extra work because both administrators and students would make decisions for and about their community without including anyone from their community,” Rafique said in an email.