Undergraduate student government President Heather Rosen asked on Monday for UCLA community members to submit any evidence that members of the LET’S ACT! slate used illicit tactics to fundraise in previous campaigns.
Documents leaked near the start of the Undergraduate Students Association Council election last month allege that LET’S ACT! members used student fees and sold marijuana and alcohol to raise revenue for their 2013 and 2014 election campaigns. Several slate members have denied the allegations but have verified certain files in the leaked documents.
Since USAC unanimously voted on April 28 to investigate the claims, a task force created by former USAC President Avinoam Baral has not found direct evidence of wrongdoing by LET’S ACT!, Baral said.
“We want to give people the opportunity to come forward to verify the authenticity of the documents,” Baral said.
The task force, composed of Associated Students UCLA officials and current councilmembers, will make a decision after enough time is given to students to come forward, Rosen said. Rosen could not specify how long the task force expects to take.
If the task force cannot find conclusive evidence, it can drop the case, she said.
“We don’t want to go on a blind search when we audit the documents,” Rosen said. “We need solid evidence which will back up the allegations stated on the document.”
If the task force finds that the allegations are valid, it will determine which university policy or election code was violated and deliver an appropriate penalty, Rosen said.
The allegations may not relate to slate members in the 2015-2016 election. If so, the result of the investigation would not affect the tenure of current LET’S ACT! councilmembers, General Representative 2 Aaliya Khan, General Representative 3 Anais Amin and Cultural Affairs Commissioner Amy Shao, Rosen said.
Last month, USAC also called on the Election Board to investigate allegations against LET’S ACT! related to this year’s election. After conducting interviews, the Election Board could not verify any wrongdoing by LET’S ACT! in the most recent election and does not have jurisdiction over past elections.
After the investigation is complete, the task force hopes to focus on addressing weaknesses in the current campaign finance process, such as finding ways to better track where slates obtain their funding.
Anyone with information can contact Rosen at usapres@asucla.ucla.edu and the USAC Finance Committee chair at usaficom@asucla.ucla.edu.
Compiled by Nick Yu, Bruin contributor.
So what I’m getting from this is that no one can seem to find any evidence against them and so now the wild goose chase continues “for people to come forward.” No one is going to come forward and admit that they posted students personal information, including phone numbers and emails, on the internet.
when they can’t find any evidence, they make a last-ditch effort to find let’s act guilty of something they (at this point, it’s clear) didn’t do. election board can’t find any wrongdoing. the task force can’t find any wrongdoing. and now heather rosen is begging for students to come forward because she’s desperate to find them guilty. i guess slate politics don’t end with elections, and the pettiness will continue for the entire next year. way to start off your term on the right foot.
wow, okay. I see you’re a LA fan. So, I definitely see it as her doing the right thing here. If anything, she’s trying to help LA regain some legitimacy. But you guys will find any reason to whimper about something.
Letsnotforget is in fact the antisemite former transfer representative Negeen.