Christopher Moates ’16 said his bid for YCC vice president is centered around changing the student body’s apathy toward its student government.

Moates, who currently serves as chairman of Saybrook College’s Activities Committee, said he believes this apathy stems from YCC’s lack of accessibility. To address this issue, Moates has set goals for next year that include reaching out to groups that are underrepresented in student government and making the organization more transparent.

One example of a measure to increase transparency would be holding YCC office hours in a different residential college every week, Moates said.

Moates said another major component of his platform revolves around tackling issues that he believes the University administration has done an inadequate job of addressing — sexual assault, mental health policy and financial aid in particular. He pointed to a loophole in Yale’s sexual assault policy that could allow an offender to serve a suspension of only a few weeks instead of a full semester if the offense occurred at the end of the semester.

“I plan to work with [Students Against Sexual Violence at Yale] and other student organizations to change the timing of the penalty to ensure that suspended students serve their full punishment,” Moates said.

As Moates is a member of the varsity baseball team, he will bring a unique perspective to the YCC, said Amalia Halikias ’15.

Ari Zimmet ’16, who has served on Sophomore Class Council, said Moates has connections with many people who are not usually represented in or interested in the YCC. If elected, Moates could help bring those people into the student government process.

“While some of those people might be uninterested in the YCC because of their lack of representation, he’s interested in getting them excited in YCC and what it could be if they considered it a body that could actually help them out,” Zimmet said.

Halikias said most Yale students make friends with people who are similar to themselves, but Moate’s decision to run for YCC vice president as a varsity athlete is just one example of how Moates “breaks the mold.”

“Chris has managed to get me interested in the issues and more interested in student government in general,” Halikias said. “That’s the kind of YCC I want to see.”

Moates was unable to attend Sunday’s YCC debate due to the baseball team’s away game at Dartmouth.