KEITH ENRIQUEZ/Daily Bruin Senior Staff USAC
President-elect Karren Lane celebrates her victory
Tuesday night after elections results are announced.
By Robert Salonga
Daily Bruin Reporter
In an overwhelming victory, the Student Empowerment! slate won
every position ““ including the top three ““ for which it
ran a candidate in the 2001-02 Undergraduate Students Association
Council.
Karren Lane won the presidency, garnering 52.21 percent of the
4,631 votes cast.
“I think everyone feels empowered by the turnout. It’s
not about USAC or the positions or the titles; it’s about the
work,“ she said to the large crowd of fellow slate
members after results were announced.
All seven members of the Student Empowerment! slate who ran
during the two-day elections won seats on the council. The S.U.R.E.
slate ““ which stands for Students United for Reform and
Equality ““ won two seats, and the remaining two seats of
council were filled by independents.
Elections Board Advisor Mike Cohn said the voter turnout of
4,846 was approximately 13 percent lower than last year’s
total.
“Every year, the turnout reflects the competitiveness of
the race,” Cohn said.
This year, for the first time since 1998, there will be no
runoff elections.
The presidency was hotly contested by three candidates, who ran
on very distinct platforms. Independent candidate David Ehrenberg,
who stressed his goal to promote council unity, offered his
compliments to Lane and her campaign Thursday night, and said that
his involvement in USAC is far from over.
“I think Karren will do a good job,” he said.
“She offered me a position on her staff and I accepted. I am
more than honored.”
Student Empowerment! slate leader Lane emphasized her experience
with student government, having served as a member of the Student
Fee Advisory Committee as well as chair of the African Student
Union.
Dusan Miletich headed the S.U.RE. slate and ran on the most
revolutionary platform, proposing the establishment of a student
senate system. He attributed low voter turnout as one reason for
his defeat.
“I think the voter turnout was so low that it worked
against us,” he said. “I thought that after what
happened in the federal elections, people would come out and vote
more.”
He added that his slate will come back stronger, and that he
intends to be a campaign manager next year.
Lane’s first message to the crowd ““ mostly
consisting of slate supporters ““ was to take Thursday
night’s momentum to the UC Regents’ meeting next week,
where RE-28 is on the agenda to replace SP-1 and 2.
“We can’t lose this energy,” Lane said.
“(We) have to show what we want our university to look
like.”
SP-1 and 2 were policies passed by the regents in 1995 that
banned affirmative action in admissions and hiring in the UC
system. RE-28 is a proposal that would replace the policies, but
still recognize Proposition 209, the California voter initiative
that banned affirmative action statewide.
Kennisha Austin of Student Empowerment! was elected internal
vice president with 56.28 percent of the vote, beating out S.U.R.E.
candidate Ramzi Ajami. She said her existing relationship with Lane
will be a positive asset for next year’s council.
“I think Karren’s and my goals are very much in
line,” Austin said. “We knew we’d always keep
students’ interests first.”
But current USAC President Elizabeth Houston showed concern
about the presence of Student Empowerment! members in the top two
council positions.
“What worries me is that there are two people at the top
from the same student group,” Houston said.
Evan Okamura of the Student Empowerment! slate ran unopposed for
external vice president and needed only one vote to get elected. He
served as EVP this year after winning a special online election in
December to replace Portia Pedro, who was declared ineligible for
the position last fall.
“It’ll be a positive atmosphere,” Okamura
said, referring to the new council. “The thing about this
year’s council that made it so unproductive was that it was
very negative.”
Student Empowerment! candidates Theo Apostol, Cindy Mosqueda and
S.U.R.E. member David Nguyen Dahle won the general representative
spots, collecting 21.72, 22.91 and 20.09 percent of the votes,
respectively.
As one of only two S.U.R.E. candidates who won a seat on
council, Dahle said he plans to focus on issues he campaigned on
specific to his office, such as campus safety. He said he does not
anticipate major obstacles in working with council members who do
not share his views.
“Even though we might have ideological differences, most
of the elected officers are willing to find a common ground and
compromise,” Dahle said. “I don’t think
anyone’s as confrontational as some of this year’s
council members.”
The academic affairs commission went to Bryant Tan of the
Student Empowerment! slate, who garnered 58.18 percent of the votes
to beat S.U.R.E. candidate Katheryn Klein.
“I feel very positive,” Tan said. “We’re
going to do a lot for students and we’re excited about next
year.”
Jeremy McKenzie, running on the S.U.R.E. slate, will head the
facilities commission after defeating independent candidate Narges
Pisheh with an overwhelming 62.07 percent of the vote. McKenzie
said he thought the election ran more smoothly than last year.
“This year was much more civil. Last year there were many
more attacks, both overtly and covertly,” he said.
For the position of financial supports commissioner, Kim Coss, a
Student Empowerment! candidate, beat out S.U.R.E. member Suzanna
Minasian and independent Andrew LaFlamme by gaining 50.81 percent
of the votes. Coss said the results affirmed students’
confidence in Student Empowerment!
With reports from Andy Shah, Linh Tat, Marion Wise and Scott B.
Wong, Daily Bruin Senior Staff.
2001 – 2002 ELECTION RESULTS Voter turnout:
4,846 students (20.44%), Majority slate: Student Empowerment (6
seats plus President) SOURCE: Elections Board Original graphic by
MAGGIE WOO/Daily Bruin Web adaptation by SHARIF ELCOTT