Welcome home to the University of Colorado.

We are the "DRIVE" ticket and the 2008-2009 University of Colorado Student Union tri-executives. We have the distinct honor to serve as your student government presidents.

The beginning of a new school year is always an exciting time and we are looking forward to another great year.

We are fortunate at CU to have a student government that has been at the forefront of progress on this campus, and offers a tremendous platform for students' voices to be heard.

With a budget of more than $35 million, UCSU is a home for many services and programs, including the CU Recreation Center, Wardenburg Health Center, the University Memorial Center, Student Outreach and Retention Center for Equity and many others.

Our primary goal as UCSU is to represent the student body as a whole.

CU is an incredible community and we will work hard to be a voice for the diversity and varied opportunities for growth on our campus. We will be inclusive of students throughout the year and will make sure students have a seat at the table to work with the administration when making decisions that impact our entire CU community.

As tri-executives, we have set many goals for our term, and work already has begun.

In the upcoming year, we will work to support, increase and improve diversity programs that enhance our ability to set every student up for an opportunity to succeed in an inclusive campus.

We will fight to keep tuition and fees low by lobbying state and national leadership for increased higher-education funding and investments in sustainable programs that curb the rising costs of a college education.

UCSU has made a commitment with the university to make substantial progress toward carbon neutrality in the signing of the President's Climate Commitment by Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson.

CU is one of the most civically engaged campuses, and UCSU will provide resources for students to be educated on upcoming ballot initiatives that impact students directly. UCSU has assembled a voter registration coalition and will be present on campus registering people to vote.

Finally, we have committed to sound processes and effective programs in each of our 13 UCSU student-fee funded advocacy and resource centers.

As students, we are looking forward to an exciting and productive year. We want to represent you the best way possible by increasing a UCSU presence around campus as advocates, allies and resources for students and student groups.

Feel free to stop by and share your thoughts with us -- or just to chat. Our office is located in UMC 125, and our door is always open.

We look forward to year full of progress.

Dustin Farivar, Victoria Garcia and Ryan Biehle are UCSU tri-executives.