After entering UCLA four years ago as a minority student,
Allende Palma/Saracho is running for president of the undergraduate
student government with the goal of giving all students the
opportunity to pursue a complete education. As the current internal
vice president for the Undergraduate Students Association Council,
Palma/Saracho says he has already laid the groundwork for the work
he will do next year, which includes working on issues like student
fees and diversity. Palma/Saracho, a fourth-year American
literature and culture and Chicana/o studies student minoring in
political science, has been exposed to activism since he was a
child, said Marco Palma, Palma/Saracho’s father, a first-
generation Mexican immigrant and union organizer. “Coming
from an immigrant family, a working class family has shaped his
values. He comes with the understanding of work ethics,”
Palma said, adding that his son has always been a noble and
passionate person. Palma/Saracho’s observations of the
struggles of his family and people in his community has been
important in shaping his character, said Teresita Palma de Saracho,
Palma/Saracho’s mother. To this day, Palma/Saracho keeps a
very close relationship with his family, Palma de Saracho said,
explaining that the family meets for brunch every Sunday. “He
is very strong on social justice; he understands social
fight,” Palma de Saracho said, adding that he has always been
a kind, compassionate and loving person. Palma de Saracho said that
her son has always been a serious and responsible personable person
““ at school his friends called him a young adult and he
always protective and caring of his younger brother.
Palma/Saracho’s own experience as a Latino student has had a
profound effect on his experience at UCLA ““ before he became
a member of MEChA, a Chicana/o cultural group, Palma/Saracho said
he felt very isolated on campus. Palma/Saracho said he hopes that
he can minimize the alienation that some students from minority
groups experience at UCLA. Some students worry that Palma/Saracho
advocates too strongly for minority student groups and ignores most
others. The student groups that form the base of Students First!
support mostly represent minority students. “Allende, like
the rest of the Students First! slate, represents a very narrow set
of interests, concerned primarily with retaining their funding
monopoly,” said Matt Knee, a member of Bruin Republicans.
Knee said he has observed that in the past Palma/Saracho and other
Students First! councilmembers have not been fair in their
treatment of USAC issues. The resolutions that have been passed by
SF! members and ads that have been put in the Daily Bruin represent
political views that are not necessarily shared by the majority of
the student body and are issues that USAC cannot realistic do
anything about, Knee said. Christopher Moritz, also from Bruin
Republicans, said he thought it would be problematic for a member
of MEChA, a group he sees as very radical, to be USAC president.
But Palma/Saracho asserts that he is concerned with the needs of
all students, from all economic and ethnic backgrounds. “In
working to aid student groups, we try to push ourselves outside of
our constituencies, … regardless of ideology, the issues we
address are relevant to students,” Palma/Saracho said.
Equal access, fair treatment The overarching
goal that Palma/Saracho has as a USAC presidential candidate is to
ensure that all students from different economic and social
backgrounds have equal access to education. The rising student
fees, admission caps and the minimum progress requirement are some
factors that make it difficult for many students, particularly
those from disadvantaged economic backgrounds, to attend UCLA,
Palma/Saracho said. As president, Palma/Saracho said he will work
with the administration to find a way to prevent student fees from
continuing to rise and increase financial aid. Palma/Saracho also
said he would work to repeal the minimum progress requirement,
which he believes puts an unnecessary burden on students.
“It’s a retention issue, it’s a quality of
education issue. A lot of students are falling under the
requirement and it’s unfair,” Palma/Saracho said. His
work as IVP has demonstrated that he is competent in working fairly
with the administration, councilmembers and students, said Matt
Kaczmarek, external vice president. Palma/Saracho’s personal
experience and observations of how alienating life can be for
minority students has made him a passionate advocate for promoting
understanding and discussion between students with different
backgrounds. “It’s hard to feel that you belong, seeing
diversity decrease every single year,” Palma/Saracho said,
adding that he would hold workshops and discussion forums on such
issues as racism, sexism and homophobia to try to make students
feel more welcome at UCLA. Another aspect of Palma/Saracho’s
platform is to redefine education so that it is more comprehensive
and includes education both inside and outside the classroom,
instituting a student empowerment internship and a community
service requirement.
Making diversity central The lack of diversity
of the UCLA campus was a striking experience after growing up in
Alhambra in East Los Angeles, a heavily Latino and Asian immigrant
community, Palma/Saracho said. The experiences he had in his home
community were an important part of shaping his consciousness,
Palma/Saracho said. Throughout high school, Palma/Saracho said he
saw many students who were struggling to have the same access to
education and students from economically advantaged backgrounds. If
elected as the USAC president, Palma/Saracho says he will advocate
for outreach and to find a viable way to change the admissions
process ““ Palma/Saracho is also a strong advocate of
affirmative action, but he will also work to find other alternative
methods of reform. “He’s an excellent thinker, whenever
we’re sitting around talking about an issue, he comes up with
creative solutions,” Kaczmarek said as a reason he believed
Palma/Saracho would be the best choice for president. In the fall,
Palma/Saracho plans to apply to graduate school and in the future
hopes to become a high school literature teacher in East Los
Angeles. Palma/Saracho has always enjoyed reading and writing
““ composing works of poetry, fiction and non-fiction.
“The one thing he always revered was books,” Palma de
Saracho said, remembering an afternoon when Palma/Saracho was 4
years old and in tears because a friend had ripped his book. Palma
de Saracho recalled her son being upset because books were stories,
and it was wrong to rip stories. As a teacher, Palma/Saracho hopes
to promote written expression in his students and encourage them to
tell their own stories. As USAC president, Palma/Saracho plans to
encourage students to share their narratives to promote diversity
and understanding.