Monday, March 10, 1997
POLITICS:
Bruin Democrats still support slate’s agenda despite withdrawal
of supportBy Darrin Hurwitz and Angela Foster
Internal Vice President Glenn Inanaga’s suggestion that the
Bruin Democrats’ recent withdrawal of support from Students First!
was rooted in political differences ("Bruin Democrats revoke
support of Students First!," March 6) is not only blatantly
inaccurate but also offensive to the many Democrats on this campus
who have both fought for and supported social justice issues in the
past few years. From his contact with Bruin Democrats, Inanaga
should know better than to deceitfully question our political
integrity.
From the beginning of our relationship with Students First!,
Bruin Democrats has strongly supported the slate’s political
agenda. The organization has backed up our public support through
member involvement in the grassroots efforts to fight Proposition
209 and the regents’ attacks on affirmative action, to elect
progressive candidates to political office, and to register voters.
This organization stood behind Students First! because of our
belief that student government should be progressive and take a
strong stand on political issues.
We continue to support Students First!’s political agenda. In
fact, in our formal withdrawal of support which Inanaga must have
ignored, we stated explicitly that "The Bruin Democrats’ departure
from Students First! does not in any way diminish our commitment to
working together on issues of equality and social justice."
However relevant Students First!’s political agenda may be,
though, this can not justify the slate leadership’s disregard for
ethics, lack of professionalism, or its insular tactics used to
keep its coalition narrowly based in a few student advocacy groups.
Students on this campus demand not only a political student
government, but one which is inclusive and plays by the rules. As
responsible students, we should settle for nothing less.
Both Inanaga and USAC President John Du seem to believe that
only they can deliver a pro-active, progressive agenda to students
and that we should forgive their imperfections. However, they fail
to realize that they do not hold a monopoly over progressive
students on this campus and that issues of student government
responsibility and competence are pertinent issues that students do
take with them to the voting booth.
If anything, Du and Inanaga demean the political issues they
work for by failing to establish themselves as credible spokesmen
for their cause. Students who believe in the importance of
progressive political action deserve a responsible, accountable and
answerable student government to speak on behalf of them to the
campus community and beyond.