Wednesday, 4/30/97 Government faceless in eyes of students
Efforts by USAC must be made to entice undergraduates to vote
What’s USAC? My jaw dropped in astonishment. The Undergraduate
Student Association Council elections loom ever so close, yet a
first-year history student did not recognize the abbreviation for
her own student government. I marveled at this phenomenon as it
played out before me again with another first-year student. My
curiosity took the better of me as I probed further into the
student’s knowledge of USAC trivia. "I really like the speech that
one guy gave at the beginning of the year … What’s his name,
again?" (This statement refers to the convocation ceremony held at
the Los Angeles Tennis Center at the start of Fall Quarter. Here we
are at UCLA, an institution of "higher" learning and no one seems
willing to educate themselves about student issues. I also find it
rather disturbing that the student government of UCLA cannot make
itself known to the entire student population before election time.
Where are the attempts to educate and involve students? Or perhaps
it is voter apathy? Imagine not knowing the name of the president
of the United States. When someone refers to John Du, the current
USAC president, as "that one guy who spoke at convocation," we must
examine the source of this ignorance in order to make some educated
decisions during the elections. Perhaps the incumbent student
government’s complacency undermines any effort to reach out to
other student groups. But of course, this is not the case.
Hopefully you took a gander at the Daily Bruin article reporting on
the recent controversy involving the USAC sponsorship of an
organization that fights for the rights of oppressed Palestinians
in Israel. The next scapegoat for the lack of knowledge about USAC
is voter apathy, which forever seems to plague these hallowed halls
of UCLA. What causes this affliction? No matter the political
level, voter apathy forces voter turnout numbers to stay low. (Look
at the Los Angeles mayoral race or the GSA elections last year.)
But can constituents be blamed for this? Last year, I witnessed an
amazing election of a higher moral code filled with mudslinging and
hostility. I hear rumors and allegations of various kinds. It
frightens me to think that rational individuals could be duped into
being preoccupied with matters that detract from the real issues at
hand such as registration fees, campus safety, affirmative action,
student involvement and outreach, and group sponsorship. What
"party" best represents your needs and your sentiments? (I can’t
begin to describe to you how pleased I am to see the number of
parties and candidates vying for a political office this year.)
There is Students First!, which currently controls USAC. At one
time, this group focused on immigration reform, registration fees,
affirmative action, diversity and retention programs. This party
also advocates a diversity education requirement and operates the
book-lending program. A newly created organization is Access
Coalition. Ben Hofilena, the president of the International Student
Association and candidate for USAC president, described Access as a
coalition of groups attempting to initiate more student involvement
and more direct student services. Access seeks to protect students
from increases in registration fees and to work with other groups
such as CALPIRG in a post-Proposition 209 UCLA. Bruin Vision,
resurrected from last year, offers voters more choices during the
elections. This group advocates the sale of alcohol on campus for
safety reasons and university revenue. (In case you don’t know,
UCLA is a "dry" campus where the only alcohol that can be sold here
is in some over-the-counter cough medication.) Along with these
three groups are the Bruin Libertarians and a number of
independents. (Yes, I am a Libertarian, and no, I am not affiliated
with this organization.) So what? Who cares about all this useless
political babble? Isn’t USAC a powerless bureaucracy filled with
self-interested individuals? Well … no, it’s not. USAC wields its
power in many different ways from sponsoring an event in Westwood
Plaza (like all the free entertainment at noon) to fighting to keep
registration fees reasonable. USAC is held accountable to the
students by Student Media, the Judicial Board and students who care
to voice their concerns. Why should I vote? (Chances are you
probably didn’t even vote in the last local or national election.)
I can rant and rave about the merits of marching to a polling booth
and casting a ballot. But you won’t vote. No one cares. Just allow
a bunch of self-serving elitists to take control of your student
government. Pardon the sarcasm. But please take the time to educate
yourself about all these parties and go find a polling site. Why?
(Sigh … I will now rant and rave about the merits of voting.) 1.
You realize the important role student government plays in
maintaining registration fees at their current levels. 2. You seek
to have a government body representative of the majority of UCLA
and not some small portion of it. 3. You want to make student
government work for you. (This is the purpose of having one. Is it
not?) 4. Voting is a privilege, and you want to use it before some
crazy despotic absolutist takes over the government. (Trust me, my
time will come.) 5. The lonely people sitting at the polling booth
prefer to have something to do other than the crossword in The
Bruin. 6. Polling sites are all over campus and are probably close
to your class. Therefore, it will only take a few minutes. 7. You
want to use your power to make student leaders accountable for what
they do. (Several students already took the initiative by
presenting cases to the Judicial Board and by writing to The
Bruin.) Now, it’s your turn to do something. Test the political
waters of UCLA and cast that ballot. Yes, Julianne has been
permitted to rant about all sorts of things. If she has angered you
in some way, send her an e-mail at jsohn@ucla.edu. Previous Daily
Bruin story: A Menacing Cloud Shadows Humanity , April 16, 1997