Iowa State Student Government election polls open Monday. Four of the seats on the ballot are for the College of Engineering. Tiffanie Fix is a sophomore in cybersecurity engineering and serves as the Iowa Federation College Republican vice-chair of Central Iowa Young Republicans, is a national committeewoman for Iowa Young Republicans and is president of Women’s Alliance for Cybersecurity. Fix is one of five candidates running for the position.

Why do you feel you are qualified to represent the College of Engineering?

Within the past year, I have been working back-to-back campaigns, so I am very familiar with the world of politics. I truly believe, especially with all the drama that occurred with College Republicans and even on the state level, that it is important to be that platform that students can speak upon so that their voices are fairly listened to. It was a tough time for the school as well as all students who are conservative, that it may be hard to address some issues.

During this time, I was the only executive board member that really wanted to hear out the other chapter chairs. I am an executive; I felt that it was my duty to meet with every student that is president of their chapter to discuss their thoughts on what was going on. After hearing everyone’s input, to really gather them together and discuss: OK, we clearly share this as an issue, how should we come together in possibilities of resolution?

I think it is really important, especially with COVID going on, now that we have a semester gone by, now is the time to really listen to students on how we can improve the school, how we can really give them their full college experience. Especially for students who have accessibility needs, international students, un-traditional students and freshmen, this is all new to them. This is their first taste of college, and compared to other students who were here during in-person classes, they aren’t getting the same exact experience where it may be an obstacle to understand classes, get to know Iowa and campus, to be able to find those resources and be aware that there are resources as such out there. That is the huge reason why I want to advocate and have those voices and concerns that maybe people shy away from or don’t think matter, give them a fair input that they should be addressed.

How do you plan to represent your constituents? 

With engineering, our major and career field is more of a hands-on experience; for example, mechanical engineering, you are going to your senior project working in a group, hands-on. It can be quite an obstacle. I know a lot of freshmen have come to me in frustration during office hours. … I really want to push for seeing more efficiency and conveniences for students, like having office hours specifically for questions, having office hours specifically for doing demos.

Also, a huge thing is it is not as easy as going into the Student Services building to know how to get help, where to get help and what kind of help is out there. Yes, we do have resources out there, but they are kind of scattered across the Iowa State app. It is kind of like, I want to make a webpage, similar to the Student Services building where all of the different resources students can access are out there for them to see. I kind of want more awareness to be brought to that.

Also, for students, as mentioned that traditionally, engineering students like to have that hands-on experience to be able to have guidelines set following the CDC to maybe have an opportunity for those comfortable to maybe have office hours be held or tutoring sessions.

What are the biggest issues you feel need to be addressed within the next year?

Financially, a lot of students were impacted by the coronavirus, and I know with the amenities we have on campus such as fees to use labs, we are not able to use those. So I feel we should push for a temporary reduction on those fees because students can’t use them. Also, students who are abroad or across state lines, it is unfair for them to be charged for something they can’t use.

Another major thing that needs to be addressed is socializing. The pandemic has affected a lot of students mentally, and if you go on campus, it is seemingly dead. A lot students aren’t able to get to know students in their classes, they don’t really know their TA. … I really want to see more opportunities to get to know your peers, more opportunities to get out of your house, to feel like you are part of campus. We have the library space open for students to work and would be able to take a whole classroom and maybe five students to have a tutoring format to make sure students are getting that full experience. If they are not able to reach those experiences, it will take hardship because, personally, I would rather have money for my rent than to spend money toward things that I don’t use and can’t use.

Why is it crucial the College of Engineering have an equal role in Student Government?

I feel that when it comes to engineering, it is such a big part of the university. It is definitely part of the heart and soul of campus, and it brings thousands of students onto this campus from all over. We want to establish that sense of community, especially with the pandemic, to know that you are not alone, that you do have this family of your different majors and you do have support and people cheering you on. Also, for them to enjoy their experience and to get involved with clubs, to have more opportunities to succeed and grow. So, having the engineering department, especially in my mention of office hours not being as efficient it could be, be open, that students see that. This is new to all of us, so people of the engineering department and people of different colleges working together.