When voting in the upcoming Undergraduate Students Association Council elections, there is only one person qualified to be your next external vice president. That person is in-house candidate Susan Li.
Li has worked in the USAC EVP Office for the past three years and has a personal connection to the issues she advocates for, such as affordability and access to higher education. This past year, Li served as the assistant external vice president of statewide and university affairs, making her one of the most knowledgeable people regarding UC fee policy, the UC Board of Regents and the California legislature.
Furthermore, her experience running campaigns with the University of California Student Association and the United States Student Association reflect her unparalleled experience to lead this office.
Beyond simply claiming experience, Li has tangible accomplishments under her belt that demonstrate her commitment to the UCLA community. This past year, she led the UCLA-wide StudentsVOTE! Coalition, which brought together dozens of campus organizations, recruited nearly 100 volunteers and registered 8,519 Bruins to vote. This campaign broke the UCLA record of 6,000 Bruins registered from 2004 and ranked UCLA third in voter registration efforts among all universities in the nation.
Li also helped cement the relationship with the Office of Residential Life to maximize voter registration efforts on the Hill. She teamed up with resident assistants to focus on the voter education portion of the election through the Election INVASION program, which made contact with a total of 8,000 students.
Li is also a founding member of the Bruin Lobby Corps, which has met with more than 120 Democratic and Republican legislators over the past two years. She has been instrumental in pushing legislation such as the College Affordability Act and the DREAM Act.
Li brought her advocacy efforts to campus and assisted in the creation of the Alliance of DREAMs, a coalition that prioritizes the passage of the DREAM Act through local advocacy efforts.
These past accomplishments speak to Susan’s potential to be an effective EVP.
Her platform exemplifies a mature understanding of the office and builds off past successes.
Li will work to bring larger delegations to state and national conferences to ensure the student voice is amplified.
She will build off the Lessons in Lobbying Workshops this year and create Direct Action Resource Trainings to benefit all student organizations.
She also plans on creating an Advocacy Grant by re-prioritizing the EVP Office Budget to go back to the students, again illustrating a mature understanding of the office.
Finally, she will work on sustainability by digitizing the Travel Grant and Advocacy Grant applications to continue USAC’s commitment to going paperless.
This year, the EVP Office was given all “green lights” by the Daily Bruin for its effectiveness to serve students, and Li was crucial in acquiring each success.
It is for these reasons that the current leadership of the EVP Office wholeheartedly endorses the only qualified candidate in this race to serve as external vice president: Susan Li.
Melgar is the USAC 2008-2009 external vice president. Harrison is the chair of the University of California Student Association Legislative Committee. Perez is the director of the Bruin Lobby Corps.
by Jesse Melgar, Brandon Harrison and Stephanie Perez