Robles will enhance academic experience The
Daily Bruin’s claim that I am less knowledgeable about
academic policies is unfounded (“Schuster has realistic goals
and the experience to back them up,” May 8). As a state-wide
student lobbyist, dedicated member of the Academic Affairs
Commission, participant in the president’s office and
external vice president’s office, an Academic Senate student
representative, and liaison to the Campus Retention Center for over
two years, I have more experience on various academic policies and
student needs than my opponents. I will put all students first to
advocate and demand a relevant education and prepare all students
for their aspirations, not just those preparing for jobs in
business, law or medicine. Next year I will host “Academic
Empowerment Weeks” that include a speaker series, lunch
socials with professors, workshops and resource fairs ““ all
designed to educate students about the various life-enhancing
opportunities available on this campus, simplify academic policy,
and raise academic and social consciousness. Not only will these
weeks provide all students with the resources they need to be
proactive with their education, but they will also serve to
holistically develop students into more well-rounded individuals.
In addition, I will also expand student-initiated education by
working to give more students the opportunity to receive units for
extracurricular work and teaching their own seminars. I will
provide structural support for internship and research
opportunities by expanding BruinWalk to include a classified
section for professors to post research opportunities as well as
advocating to give more students the option of creating their own
majors. Finally, I will continue to fight to reform the Expected
Cumulative Progress requirement and implement a much needed
diversity requirement. This week, as my opponents simply define
“academics” as a path to obtaining a career, I urge you
to vote for someone who understands that students’ academic
experience reaches far beyond the workplace. I will work to enhance
your entire academic experience, both in the short-term and
long-term, by advocating for student-friendly academic policies and
giving students more control over our education.
Brenda Robles Academic Affairs commissioner
candidate
Zavala’s programs will benefit campus It
is the general representatives’ duty to address real matters
that affect the entire student body. Crime at UCLA has increased
over the past few years and the undergraduate population must be
aware of recent violent attacks, thefts and sexual assaults on and
around our campus. With the launch of my Crime Awareness Campaign,
I will ensure that students have an easy place to access
information about their own safety as well as an easy way to report
any recent crime incidents. Working with the UCPD and the Center
for Women and Men, this mechanism will keep students updated and
hold different entities at UCLA accountable for a safe campus.
Ranging from hate crimes to rapes, a new link on MyUCLA would make
the information more accessible to students and they would be able
to take necessary precautions. A link on the web page would also
allow students to report any attack they were personally victims of
or witnesses to. Along with launching a Crime Awareness Campaign, I
also plan to provide students with an additional funding source.
Even though this year USAC funded the most student groups, the
average funding allocation has decreased significantly. My funding
and sponsorship guide for external funding sources addresses this
concern by providing students with information about student
programming grants that outside businesses offer and links students
to new sources of funding. This “Mo’ Money, Less
Problems” Funding Guide would also include valuable
information on applying for funding here on campus. My plans for
next year also include Global Consciousness Week, designed to help
educate and engage students in social justice work. I believe that
my goals will truly benefit the campus community in the coming year
as they will increase campus safety, affordability and diversity
here at UCLA and continue to put Students First! Lorena
Shakira Zavala General representative candidate
Tokushige is an effective lobbyist In endorsing
Tina Park for external vice president, the Daily Bruin
shortsightedly cited her experience in the EVP’s office as
the primary reason for her endorsement. We strongly disagree and
support Katie Tokushige, the Bruins United candidate for the
position of EVP. The image of Katie as inexperienced, particularly
in the aspect of lobbying, is extremely misleading. As co-chair of
the Darfur Action Committee, Katie led the successful effort to
divest our money from companies funding the genocide in Sudan. She
worked extensively with the UC Board of Regents and other UC
campuses to accomplish that monumental goal. In her role as
internal vice president of Bruin Democrats, she has gained
extensive political knowledge that would be invaluable to the
EVP’s office. The real choice between these two candidates is
whether the EVP’s office wants fresh leadership. This year,
Park was in charge of the office’s Voter Registration Drive,
which completely ignored both the Bruin Democrats and Bruin
Republicans, even after we reached out to her. The EVP’s
office gave out $7,500 worth of student money in the form of travel
grants, but kept the decision-making process completely secret. As
EVP, Katie will make travel grant funding an open and transparent
process and work with student groups, not ignore them, to register
as many voters as possible. This past year, we have seen what the
office of EVP would look like under Tina. We believe another year
of ignoring student groups and giving out students’ money in
a secretive fashion is the wrong direction. It’s time for a
change, and that change is Tokushige.Gabriel Rose &
Faith Christiansen President of Bruin Democrats and chairwoman of
Bruin Republicans
Chavez will try to fix off-campus issues In
response to the editorial endorsements, I would like to clarify one
significant aspect of UCLA life: Students do care about off-campus
issues and need a leader who can link student advocacy efforts with
those of the greater community. From leading the campaign to divest
from Sudan to ensuring that only sweatshop-free apparel is sold in
our stores, UCLA students have proven that their priorities and
needs span outside of the UCLA bubble. My concrete advocacy
experience both on and off campus suits the needs of the thousands
of UCLA students who continuously engage in social justice
campaigns, research and programs. I am the only presidential
candidate who has worked effectively on issues that students care
about in the community as well as on campus. For example, I
successfully helped restore $17.3 million statewide for threatened
outreach and academic preparation programs. Although this was
initially seen as farfetched, I lobbied in Sacramento, built
connections with various administrators, brought hundreds of
students together, and secured a letter of support from the
chancellor to ensure a successful campaign. Students’ needs
are large and extend past campus borders. The USAC president cannot
simply put on programs and be afraid to take a stance on
controversial issues. It is the job of the president to go beyond
programming for students in order to ensure that they have a voice,
both on campus and throughout the nation. UCLA has never been and
will never be about maintaining the status quo. As the Students
First! presidential candidate, I will challenge that status quo to
work effectively to increase diversity, campus safety and
affordability at UCLA. Lucero Chavez Presidential
candidate