Several student organization leaders have voiced concerns about the deadline to submit applications for the undergraduate student government elections group endorsement process.
To formally endorse candidates in the upcoming Undergraduate Students Association Council elections, student groups must first register by submitting informational forms to the USAC Election Board.
The general deadline for the group endorsement applications was Wednesday, but some students said they felt the Election Board did not give them adequate notice about the deadline. They also expressed concerns about some student groups receiving an email notification about the deadline while others did not.
Several students also said they thought the Election Board should have marked the deadline on the official elections calendar they distributed to candidates and posted on their website. Former Election Board Chair Dana Pede said the board marked the event on the official elections calendar last year, but she does not think the board sent out any email reminders to groups about turning in the applications.
To publicize the deadline, this year’s Election Board placed at least one ad in the Daily Bruin and posted the date on their website.
Election Board Chair Anthony Padilla said he thinks the board did everything it could to reach students and publicize the deadline. He added that he thinks people interested in the elections read the Daily Bruin and check the elections website.
Padilla said he went to the Student Organizations, Leadership & Engagement office to obtain a list of officially registered student groups’ emails so he could remind organizations about the deadline.
With that information, the Election Board compiled a listserv of the undergraduate student groups on the list and sent emails to them April 10, Padilla said.
But some members of registered organizations said they did not receive emails when they think they should have.
Tammy Rubin, the president of Hillel at UCLA and a signatory for multiple student groups, said some of the groups she is in did not receive the email.
Hillel was granted an extension for the application because Passover fell over the weekend, causing complications with the group’s ability to get in touch with the necessary signatories, said Rubin, a third-year human biology and society student.
But Rubin said she thinks that all groups, not just groups with religious conflicts, should have received an extension because of the short notice about the deadline.
Padilla said that the Election Board is currently reviewing applications and moving forward with the process.
Compiled by Amanda Schallert, Bruin senior staff.
After reading all of these articles it really seems like Padilla has some sort of agenda.
He clearly got sped through the process from Joanino, and now it just working as a little puppet for Let’s Act. I still don’t understand why council felt the need to appoint him – he has zero qualifications at all.
First he sneaks the calendar by council and changes the voting period without making note of the changes…
Now he is making it so groups don’t know about endorsement hearings (which is already a ridiculous, tedious, and unnecessary process). Let’s see who turned in the endorsement packets on time – my bet is all of the Let’s Act supporting groups heard about this with no problem.
“Election Board Chair Anthony Padilla said he thinks the board did everything it could to reach students and publicize the deadline.” Yet for some reason “some” student groups didn’t receive the e-mail? Something sounds fishy…
Daily Bruin – why don’t you do a little research and see which groups turned in their packets on time? It would be great to know that some organizations that don’t have the privilege of being housed inside of CPO or Kerckhoff get to have a voice on campus as well.