Wednesday, 5/7/97 President Kandea Mosley
Kandea Mosley is an articulate, passionate and informed leader.
Her strongly held convictions mesh well with the best interests of
UCLA’s undergraduates, and her experience as chairwoman of the
African Student Union and work in a number of other important
organizations clearly make her a qualified candidate. Mosley has a
good grasp of the larger issues that a student government, and
particularly its president, must face. She recognizes the
challenges and opportunities inherent in the arrival of a new
chancellor, the constant threat of fee hikes and the steps that can
be taken to preserve diversity in a post-affirmative action UCLA.
Two of the new campaigns Mosley is pushing also indicate a
willingness to bring new ideas and new faces into a student
government that has been dominated by the same slate for two years.
Mosley’s plan for a student government internship program and
welcome week, if pulled off successfully, should foster greater
awareness of and participation in USAC. Mosley’s weakness is in her
lack of specific new objectives for next year. When questioned, she
proved herself the right candidate to continue the work begun by
student government during the last two years, but did not present a
satisfactory set of new goals or objectives. Another strong
candidate for president, independent Ruben Garcia, has no shortage
of new ideas. A recent transfer student, Garcia’s extensive
community experience and fresh perspective would make a welcome
addition to USAC. Like many candidates, Garcia is calling for the
creation of a student senate to increase campus involvement in
government. He also proposed an intriguing plan to register
students to vote when doing official business with Murphy Hall –
much like the Motor Voter bill has made voter registration possible
with state institutions like the Department of Motor Vehicles. In
the end though, his lack of familiarity with UCLA and the unlikely
feasibility of some of his proposals make Mosley the better choice.
Nonetheless, next year’s student government and president’s office
would benefit from the support and participation of people like
Garcia.