Nine of 13 undergraduate student government positions will be contested in this spring’s elections, after the previous year’s elections only saw three contested positions.
The Undergraduate Students Association Council Election Board, which oversees the spring elections that will take place from May 6-9, announced the 23 students who applied to be candidates in the elections at an orientation Wednesday.
All applicants are unofficial until the release of eligibility check results by the dean of students.
The Election Board extended the application deadline from last Friday at noon to this past Tuesday at 5 p.m., in response to confusion over the application deadline. This extension caused the delay in carrying out eligibility checks.
Potential candidates can withdraw their applications by Friday at 5 p.m., Pede said.
[Updated at 7 p.m. on Friday: All candidates passed the dean of students’ eligibility checks, Pede said on Friday evening. No candidates elected to withdraw their applications.]
Two of the candidates for office next year currently hold a USAC position, General Representative 2 Carly Yoshida and external vice president Lana Habib El-Farra.
Two new slates emerged for this spring’s elections, after a year in which only one slate participated in the elections. Slates are groups of students that pool their resources together and run under similar platforms. Bruin Alliance, formerly True Bruin, has two candidate applicants. LET’S ACT!, a new slate, has 10 candidate applicants.
Bruins United, which holds eight positions on this year’s council, has eight candidate applicants.
Below are the candidate applicants, their slates and the positions they will be running for.
President
Taylor Bazley, Bruin Alliance
John Joanino, LET’S ACT!
Carly Yoshida, Bruins United (current councilmember)
Internal Vice President
Lana Habib El-Farra, LET’S ACT! (current councilmember)
Avi Oved, Bruins United
External Vice President
Nicole Fossier, Bruin Alliance
Maryssa Hall, LET’S ACT!
General Representatives (three positions)
Avinoam Baral, Bruins United
Charmaine Campbell, LET’S ACT!
Sam Haws, Bruins United
Devin Murphy, LET’S ACT!
Lizzy Naameh, LET’S ACT!
Sunny Singh, Bruins United
Academic Affairs Commissioner
Uyen Hoang, LET’S ACT!
Darren Ramalho, Bruins United
Campus Events Commissioner
Jessica Kim, Independent
Community Service Commissioner
Omar Arce, Independent
Cultural Affairs Commissioner
Jessica Trumble, LET’S ACT!
Facilities Commissioner
Armen Hadjimanoukian, Bruins United
Anthony Montalvo, LET’S ACT!
Financial Supports Commissioner
Brenda Gutierrez, LET’S ACT!
Lauren Rogers, Bruins United
Student Wellness Commissioner
Savannah Dianne Badalich, Independent
Carly Yoshida is running for president?? I am so excited for what she could do next year!
What can she do?
Bruins United is only running two females….and two people of color….? How does this even represent the UCLA student body as a whole? How can my voice be heard on this council next year when not a single person seems to represent my community and my needs as a student? Extremely disappointed.
You are just so blatantly wrong.
Armen Hadjimanoukian – Armenian
Sunny Singh – Indian
Avinoam Baral and Avi Oved – Jewish/Israeli
Carly Yoshida – Japanese
Darren Ramalho – Portuguese
Also, let’s be real. LET’S ACT! is running doesn’t have a single white person.. how does THAT even represent the UCLA student body as a whole?
… looks like my voice won’t be heard if they are elected either.
I don’t think that the person earlier was saying that the BU candidates weren’t qualified. Only that they didn’t feel like the slate represented their community/identity/etc, which is a valid concern for any student. It’s also true that in previous years BU has done a better job of diversifying the slate.
Just as a note, Lauren Rogers is also part Syrian. Not only the BU slate diverse in ethnicity, they are diverse in personality and in their platforms they are pushing so that they can equally represent all students.
Seems to me if you feel you are not represented, you might try to run yourself. I think this represents the population at UCLA that is involved in student government.
If you really think that BU messed up because it isn’t running that many “people of color” which doesn’t “represent the student body”…then there’s a lot you need to re-evaluate like the US Senate. It’s the views that would represent the student body not physical aspects or characteristics that the candidates have no control over….extremely disappointed that you’re a closed minded as well.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.-Martin Luther King Jr.
BU prides itself in slating only the most qualified candidates, which is why we aren’t running a CAC or EVP candidate this year because we didn’t feel that anyone on the slate was qualified enough to run for those positions. We don’t look at race or gender, just qualifications. To insinuate that we should run someone based off their race or gender alone is the definition of discrimination.
I am not trying to get in a debate just trying to fact/assumption check.
1. People shouldn’t make assumptions about how people self-identify or box them, so how about we ask people how they identify (this goes for everyone)
2. Portuguese is european (white), not considered people of color
3. LET’S ACT! Based on the list above does have a “White” identified candidate (see: Jessica Trumble)
4. There’s a lot of arguments on here that replicate “post-racial” society assumptions, when we all know RACE, CLASS, GENDER, and SEXUALITY very much STILL MATTER
Portuguese =/= white. They have their own culture much different than white. They are a minority.
Yes you are right, race does still matter, where are the white candidates?
why is lana running for ivp? lol but really? lost some respect…
I couldn’t be more excited about this year’s elections. I am so proud of the Bruins United candidates but have a ton of respect for Let’s Act and Bruin Alliance. Above all else I look forward to the student body deciding who best represents their values and interests.
The next 30 days are going to be wild and hectic, but at the end of the day I am proud to be a Bruin and be part of such an incredible institution. Good luck to all!
Jessica Kim for galactic overlord.
I could not be more excited for John, Lana, and Maryssa to be running as execs this year!!! ahhh they are some of the most qualified leaders on this campus!
I’m SO excited to see someone as intelligent, qualified, and passionate as John Joanino run for USAC president! These are the types of leaders we need! LET’S ACT!
Can we just all be thankful that the nuisance that was Students First is no longer burdening our campus with its pestering presence?
Can we just all be thankful that the nuisance that was Students First is no longer burdening our campus with its pestering presence?
SF = LA. It’s in their name: Let’s Act like we’re an entirely new slate. Let’s Act like we’re qualified enough to run for these positions.