After attending a series of hearings last week, student organizations submitted their official endorsements for the upcoming undergraduate student government election and are now officially allowed to openly show their support.
Student groups can endorse any candidate or an entire slate, candidates who pool resources and run under common platforms. Groups can also endorse referendums, such as this year’s, Practicing Leadership and Empowerment to Develop Growth thru Education, PLEDGE.
Though a few groups were unable to meet the deadline for endorsements, 54 groups are officially supporting the positions on the ballot for the election.
Mallory Wang, the elections board chair, said student groups who did not officially participate in endorsements are allowed to flier and support their candidates, but they will not be featured in today’s Daily Bruin advertisement listing official endorsements.
Some groups held their own endorsement hearings to get a better sense of each candidate’s platform.
Sara Tsegaye, fundraising director from Bruin Democrats, said her organization held hearings and deliberated over each office to make sure it endorsed candidates representing Democratic ideals. Rather than endorsing a slate, the group chose to support individual candidates.
“It was a long process and very hard overall, but we’re satisfied,” she said. “We wouldn’t endorse a candidate if we weren’t 100 percent sure they were right for the position.”
Tsegaye said Bruin Democrats notifies all candidates as well as its members of its decision and reasons, in order to serve as a guide for Democratic students on campus who may not know much about the upcoming election.
Traditionally, the Daily Bruin editorial board has similar endorsement hearings. The board abstained this year because the UCLA Communications Board is part of the student fee referendum.
“The Daily Bruin decided not to endorse candidates or slates this year in order to preserve the integrity of the endorsement process the year we’re on the ballot,” said Anthony Pesce, editor in chief of the Daily Bruin. “We don’t want it to seem like we’re trading endorsements for candidate support.”
Emily Bautista, president of Samahang Pilipino, said her organization chose to endorse Students First! as well as PLEDGE, which she said aligned with the group’s goals.
Bautista said she is directly affected by PLEDGE as the signatory for Samahang Pilipino, since the referendum addresses liability issues for student groups.
“I made the personal choice to help my community, and we shouldn’t have to take the hit if something tragic happens and someone does decide to sue,” she said, adding that the group’s commitment to service and change was the basis of its endorsement.
Common interests also motivated groups such as fraternities to endorse entire slates.
Pi Kappa Phi President Rick Server said the fraternity’s endorsement of Bruins United was motivated by Greek interests.
He said a lack of funding prevented his fraternity from holding its philanthropic event, Battle of the Bands, this year.
“We send out e-mails, and at meetings we remind everyone the importance of working with someone on your side and how to vote,” he said.
Server said that like his fraterntiy, the Panhellenic Council also moved to support a full slate.