“I heard you were only about minorities.”
The words stung. My own roommate, a fellow first-year who was previously unexposed to USAC politics, was replaying the message that had buzzed around campus in those days.
It was my first year, and I was trying to recruit volunteers to help out my friend Samer Araabi get elected to USAC. He was successful and served in council for a great year, but he and the other members of the Students First! slate had to live with that reputation for being the ethnocentric crowd.
As this year’s election cycle looms near, the same notions of slate constituency are going to be heard throughout Bruin Walk, the Hill, frat row and Kerckhoff. But as I present myself as a candidate for the USAC presidency, I want to put the issue to rest.
Students First! is a progressive, multicultural coalition, and we envision a student government whose primary goal is to advocate and represent a student body eager for change.
In the past, our goal of change has been carried out in different ways. Some were small changes like fundraiser concerts and educational programs. Others were large, such as the divestment efforts to promote democracy and equality in South Africa and the campaign to stop fee hikes, which saved all students $500 each quarter.
Nonetheless, misrepresented and over-hyped accusations of self-segregation have been placed on our coalition.
As president, I hope to not only dispel the faulty image that has been placed on our slate, but also bring new relevance to the work of the council. USAC is only relevant when it can demonstrate to the student body that it is doing the groundwork for social change that affects students.
Bringing back USAC is not just going to take renewed efforts of school spirit or so-called USAC awareness. USAC must be easily accessible to the constituents it represents; its transparency must allow for easy relations between USAC and the students.
It will take a president who faces the student body and shows it that student government is fighting for concrete change and seeking to improve the UCLA experience. As a responsible figure to the student body, it is imperative that an efficient form of communication be instilled. That is why I plan to hold a quarterly state of the university address.
From that starting point, I hope to infuse a spirit of advocacy in four areas: university policy, university relations, civic engagement and student engagement. USAC can change university policy by advocating for an installment payment policy where students pay their URSA fees in increments rather than all at once to alleviate financial burden. It can improve university relations by promoting “Responsible Endowment” policies where UCLA requires the companies it invests in to adhere to sustainable guidelines. It can maximize civic engagement by seeking student representation in local government where students can voice concern about policies such as parking. It can promote student engagement with events such as BruINTENT, a huge campout for charity on our Intramural Field.
I encourage all Bruins to find us on Bruin Walk and find out about the big plans that the new Students First! has for our UCLA campus and the surrounding community.
We can put the myths to rest and set a new precedent for an effective student government that serves the UCLA student body.
And that’s what it means to put students first.
Hosseini is the Students First! candidate for USAC president. She is a third-year political science student.