USAC activity shadowed by politics

From funding student groups to influencing what eateries are
available on campus, the Undergraduate Students Association Council
““ an entity on campus of which most are unaware ““
heavily impacts student life at UCLA.

USAC consists of 13 offices and over 100 students and is a
leadership body where students can get involved in various
activities, including everything from lobbying efforts, to
programming events, said Allende Palma/Saracho, current USAC
president.

In the past, slate majority in council has made it hard for
independents or other individuals with different ideas to feel
welcome. Often the body is limited to a few students on campus who
hinge on political extremes, making the council less palatable to
the majority of campus.

Darren Chan, USAC vice president who ran as an independent and
won, hopes that will change and maintains that all students still
can get involved.

“Getting involved has little to do with political stance.
“¦ Anyone who is interested in getting involved on campus in
any capacity should get involved in USAC,” Chan said.

Though this year’s council is dominated by Students First!
members, Chan said at the first council meeting of the year, it was
clarified that everything about campaigning would be put behind
them, and the focus would be on working for
students.   

Though current councilmembers say it is not an issue whether a
student has moderate views, one former independent presidential
candidate, Doug Ludlow, strongly disagrees.

Ludlow said USAC is currently not a welcoming voice to
independents or students with moderate views. Ludlow further stated
difficulty for independents to win elections as slates have more
manpower, money and full support from some student
groups. 

“I’d like to think there is room for all viewpoints
in USAC “¦ but it doesn’t look like there is,”
Ludlow said. “I can’t remember the last time in four
years … having a moderate president.”

Ludlow strongly encourages students who want to get involved in
student government to first do other non-USAC-related activities to
become familiar with the campus before actually leading the
campus.

Most councilmembers say after elections end, slate divisions
dissolve.

But, Ludlow said when independents do not agree with the
dominating slate, their views could easily become politically
irrelevant.

“(As an independent), to survive on council with slates
you have to be willing to put up with a lot,” Ludlow
said. 

Unlike Ludlow, Michi Kono, a former independent general
representative candidate, emphasized that involvement within USAC
is completely tangible for a student who has moderate views.

“Views shouldn’t be a hindrance for getting involved
“¦ so you just have to go for it,” Kono said. 

There are numerous ways that students, regardless of year in
school, can get involved. Advertisements in the Daily Bruin, Kono
said, are a good place to learn about involvement opportunities
within the 13 offices. 

Students can also prepare themselves for later involvement in
USAC by serving leadership roles on the Hill, such as floor
government, program assistants and Student Health Advocates, he
added.

Kono also noted there are several other ways to make a
difference in USAC without actually being on council, like
involvement in student groups.

In addition, Chan is looking toward expanding the leadership
intern program that is run by the Office of Residential Life into a
one-year commitment in which students can intern at one of the
offices.

In his first year, Palma/Saracho, like many incoming students,
did not know what USAC was until reading a submission by a former
internal vice president in the Bruin orientation issue, sparking an
interest to join USAC.

“If you are interested in doing good work, we want you.
Viewpoint doesn’t matter. There is tons of space for moderate
folks ““ if they want to lower fees it doesn’t matter if
they are progressive or radical,” Saracho said. 

Some current issues USAC has and will be tackling this fall are
the fight for an increase in financial aid and the elimination of
expected cumulative progress. 

Alongside those issues, most USAC officers say they strive for
more student involvement. A recurring misconception, councilmembers
said, is that most students think USAC is solely a political
organization.

USAC can cater to a variety of interests such as community
service projects, cultural events and entertainment events.
Councilmembers encourage students to get involved because of the
range of positions and responsibilities students can take on,
depending on their interests.

Candidates can run either on a slate, or independently during
elections. The benefit of running on a slate is the
availability of more manpower, as there are more people running
together and sharing the same views. But running independently
also has its advantages such as having the ability to more freely
maintain working relationships with all student groups regardless
of background.

In the past, members of council who belong to the same slate,
have been noted to vote along slate lines and alienate individuals
with differing opinions.

But Palma/Saracho says slates are not as important as they seem
and invites all interested students to become involved in USAC.

“The slate system is a means of leaders getting elected.
When we become a council, we become one collective group. (There
are) no slate loyalties,” Palma/Saracho said. “We work
for issues not ideologies. “¦ It’s not how I can do this
for slate recognition; that doesn’t matter
anymore.”