Each individual office in the Undergraduate Students Association Council does amazing work to address what we, the students, need. But in addition to the work in their individual offices, these elected representatives serve on council – a collective unit of leaders that work with each other and together to change the lives of more than 27,000 students. So far, they’ve done that with the 7,000 in Solidarity campaign to offer support to survivors of sexual assault, and the “Drop the I-Word” resolution, which condemns the use of the word “illegal” to refer to undocumented individuals.
I encourage them to continue this work.
One way they can continue is to take action, as a collective, on the appointment of Janet Napolitano as president of the University of California. In addition to the lack of transparency in her appointment process and her record in the Department of Homeland Security of deporting millions of undocumented immigrants, Napolitano has not met with students to dialogue about their demands despite the backlash and demands she’s received to ensure the safety of students – especially the undocumented community – in the UC.
All of my hope and optimism that USAC will take action comes from my pride of being a student at UCLA after council unanimously approved the “Drop the I-Word” resolution. Many community leaders would agree that although this resolution will create only minimal change in the lives of undocumented students, it was a first and necessary step taken that tacitly promised the undocumented community and its allies that USAC would be at the forefront in advocating for them. To not take action on an issue (such as Napolitano’s appointment) that heavily affects the undocumented community at UCLA would be hypocritical to this promise.
A few weeks ago, various communities at UCLA wrote a letter to USAC, demanding they take a stance on Napolitano. Although USAC held a discussion about Napolitano during last Tuesday’s meeting, no concrete actions were taken. As I followed the tweets from Amanda Schallert, the Daily Bruin’s campus editor, Internal Vice President Avi Oved said that “We need to be realistic on what scope of power (students) have.” I respectfully disagree. We need to be more aware of the scope of power students have. We have a great history of student activism and power in UCLA. In 2002, Assembly Bill 540 was implemented in the UC after widespread student activism including a rally in Covel Commons where the UC Board of Regents were meeting. In 2009, students across the UC gathered at UCLA where a UC Regents’ meeting was being held again to protest an increase in student fees. I’ll also mention the student actions that happened at UCLA in Royce Quad against the South African apartheid and the Vietnam War. If we really want to make a difference as I hope every councilmember wants to do, we must be willing to transform systems of power. That includes challenging administration and holding them accountable to address our needs. If an administrator fails to address those needs, then we reserve the right to deem them unfit to work with students.
USAC should create concrete plans to pressure Janet Napolitano to not only be accessible and transparent to students, but to also promise to work towards making the UC uphold its promise of inclusivity and equal opportunity for all. Along with acknowledging her record in Homeland Security, her lack of initiative to meet with students who have no confidence in her ability to lead the UC and the legitimate fear of many undocumented students, council should proactively think of ways to ensure the safety of the undocumented community in the UC; one way is to advocate for the fulfillment of the demands that students created for the UC Office of the President.
I trust that council will make feasible and impactful plans, but I challenge council to not be fearful of the consequences of the decisions they will make. Choosing to advocate for the undocumented community over an administrator is in no way comparable to the fear that many undocumented students face every day now that Janet Napolitano will be UC president.
When you learn to humanize this issue, you will realize that it is worth fighting for – that all students deserve to feel safe on campus. I would like to believe that USAC, our leaders, recognize and leverage their own privilege in politics for their fellow students. USAC must be willing and make it their mission this year to transform systems of power to change people’s lives and to remind everyone that the UC is a public university – our university. They can start by taking action on this issue now.
In solidarity.
Contreras is a third-year human biology and society student and the national affairs director for the external vice president’s office of the Undergraduate Students Association Council.