By Linh Tat and Scott B.
Wong
Daily Bruin Senior Staff Midway through the academic year, The
Bruin asked members of the Undergraduate Students Association
Council to assess their roles as student representatives. They
candidly shared the ups and downs of their tenure and their hopes
for the remainder of the year.
 Elizabeth Houston
President As USAC president, Elizabeth Houston
said her job is to listen to quarrels on campus and do her best to
bring resolution. “That’s not always easy, but I think
a lot of groups on this campus are willing to communicate with each
other, and they just need someone to come in and bring them
together,” said Houston, a fourth-year political science
student. The president’s office held mixers last month where
student groups sent two of their leaders to share their
groups’ goals and objectives. Houston also established a
public relations office this year that allows volunteers to serve
as USAC ambassadors to student organizations by attending group
meetings and speaking to officers. But Mike De la Rocha, last
year’s USAC president, attributes the increased activism
among student groups this year to Houston’s lack of
sensitivity on issues facing underrepresented student groups.
“Her antagonism and close-mindedness to issues on campus have
forced them to work more closely together,” he said. On
Sunday, Houston’s office held The People’s Jam, a
three-on-three basketball tournament, which benefitted the USAC
President’s Student Retention Scholarship. At last
week’s USAC meeting, Houston said she was disappointed that
the Student Retention Center would not sponsor the event since the
scholarship was only made available to Student Retention Program
and Academic Advancement Program students. Academic Affairs
Commissioner Roseanne Gutierrez said at last week’s meeting
that the SRC would not support something it did not have a direct
hand in organizing. Though Houston holds the highest-ranking
undergraduate position on campus, she has been ineffective in
representing and uniting both sides of council, said David
Ehrenberg, last year’s external vice president of the
Interfraternity Council. “The Greeks got her elected, but she
hasn’t been an advocate for us,” Ehrenberg said.
“She hasn’t been a voice or a good liaison for us to
other student groups.” The Greek system, along with Christian
groups, endorsed Houston during her run for presidency last spring,
providing a large bloc vote for the relatively-unknown candidate.
Ehrenberg cited Houston’s inexperience in student government
and her lack of general knowledge of the political climate on
campus as reasons for her ineffectiveness. “She has nothing
to show for her presidency so far, and that has to do with her
inexperience as a junior transfer student,” he said. "But
such programs as the student group mixer and creation of the public
relations office has helped USAC’s goal of reaching out to
students," Houston said. “Thus far, I feel I’ve gotten
more accomplished than I thought I would in this whole year as far
as getting more student groups connected with USAC,” she
said. According to Ehrenberg, who recently focused his efforts on
the Affirmative Action Coalition, Houston has not shown a conscious
effort to promote or address the issue of affirmative action.
Houston declined to say where she stands on affirmative action.
“My personal beliefs, whether they are political or
religious, should not get in the way of my job,” she said.
More student representation in USAC and equitable funding for
student groups were platforms on which she ran as president,
Houston said, and she intends to focus on these issues during her
tenure. “Being that I have so little time in here, and so
little energy to do all the projects that I want to, I’m
going to stay focused,” she said. “I want to do my job
to the best of my ability, and I think I’m doing what I
promised I would do,” she said. Earlier this year, Houston
was also criticized by members of the LGBT community for her views
on homosexuality. Part of their complaints stem from the fact that
she declined an interview with TenPercent, UCLA’s lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender student newsmagazine. Houston said
her views on homosexuality are tied to her religious beliefs.
“The Bible says that homosexuality is a sin, just like
promiscuity, like adultery, just like robbing someone,”
Houston said. “It’s a lifestyle decision and I
don’t agree with that lifestyle,” she added. A
pastor’s daughter, Houston said she was raised to believe
morality belongs in government. At UCLA, however, Houston said she
thinks it best for those in student government to keep their
personal beliefs out of the political arena. “People on this
council have shown an incredible ability to be unprofessional when
it comes to other people’s beliefs,” she said.
“This is the ultimate PC university.”
 Elias Enciso Internal Vice
President
Internal Vice President Elias Enciso said he spends at least
five hours a day in his office. The IVP assumes all
responsibilities and powers of the president if the latter is ever
absent. The IVP also represents to council all USAC-sponsored
groups, chairs the Appointments Review Committee, and serves as
student liaison with university police, housing and transportation
officials. While campaigning last spring, Enciso, a fourth-year
political science and Chicana/o studies student, said in his
personal statement that he wanted to implement mandatory
sensitivity training for University Police Department employees.
But he has yet to meet with UCPD representatives. “We are
going to meet … next quarter because there’s already so
much on the IVP plate this quarter,” he said. Fall and winter
quarter, Enciso helped organize several rallies to repeal SP-1 and
2, measures the UC Regents passed in 1995 to ban affirmative action
in university admissions and hiring practices. He also helped
jumpstart the Affirmative Action Coalition again after a two-year
hiatus. AAC, comprised of the Asian Pacific Coalition, Samahang
Pilipino, MEChA, African Student Union and Raza Women, works to
repeal the end of affirmative action in the UC-system. In addition
to working with UCPD, Enciso said he wished to create a quarterly
USAC newsletter, provide new parking permit options and see more
co-programming with the On-Campus Housing Council. The council has
not distributed any newsletters. “We started to put one
together,” Enciso said about fall quarter. “We had
asked each of the council members to submit a biography and
description of the office duties, but we weren’t able to get
them in time.” Enciso said he anticipates coming out with a
newsletter in March and possibly April. He also plans to meet with
parking or housing administrators next quarter. USAC had considered
holding a dance during Welcome Week, but the event never
materialized. Council members also wanted to co-sponsor a
“Spoken Words” that week, but facilities on The Hill
were not available, Enciso said. For now, Enciso plans to hold one
USAC meeting up on The Hill this quarter. “If we bring the
council meeting up on The Hill, it will be more accessible to
students,” Enciso said. He also came up with the idea of
holding a USAC Open House, which took place a few weeks ago. Next
quarter after USAC elections, Enciso plans to hold a tenants’
rights week for students looking into apartments. The IVP office
worked on it last year, and it hopes to turn this into an annual
event, Enciso said. As chair of the Constitutional Review
Committee, a group consisting of the IVP and two other council
members who examine USAC’s constitution and bylaws, Enciso is
responsible for calling the committee’s meetings. The CRC
plans to meet for the first time this year on Thursday. “We
need to go through the constitution by the time we meet,”
Enciso said. “When we meet, all three of us need to be on the
same page.” Enciso has been one of the more vocal council
members this year. Once during the summer, he walked out of a
council meeting due to differing views with Houston about the LGBT
community. “I’m well satisfied with how I’ve
handled all my responsibilities as internal vice president,”
he said. “You just have to be really passionate about your
stance and your belief. I’m very passionate about those
things, and I’ve performed accordingly.”
 Evan Okamura
External Vice President The external vice
president’s role consists of overseeing the UCLA Student
Lobbying Office that works on issues such as lowering student fees.
Part of Okamura’s job includes attending monthly meetings for
the University of California Students Association and the United
States Students Association, organizations which lobby for
increased financial aid and implementing new admissions policy.
Having worked in the EVP office the past two years, Evan Okamura, a
third-year political science and Asian American studies student,
feels comfortable representing the UCLA community. “The thing
I’m not used to yet is being at the council table,” he
said, referring to his first few council meetings. Okamura won the
seat of EVP in a special online election last November, when former
EVP Portia Pedro was deemed ineligible to hold office mid-way
through fall quarter. The previous chief of staff for Pedro,
Okamura said the transition to EVP has been relatively smooth.
“It’s kind of like switching roles,” said
Okamura, who enlisted Pedro as his own chief of staff. “After
I was elected, she was showing me what I needed to know and how to
prepare for USAC meetings.” During Pedro’s own run for
EVP in the spring, she said she wished to start a USAC newsletter.
But Okamura said his office is not focusing on this mission. This
week, the EVP office organized a National Week of Action, a USSA
program where Okamura’s staff of about 20 attempted to
collect student signatures to increase federal aid and grants. But
the rain prevented them from tabling on Bruin Walk.
“I’m pretty excited about that, because I’ve
never seen a national campaign in such a large scale,’
Okamura said. Other events include a teach-in on educational
barriers and an open mic event with hip-hop poetry. His office will
also work with AAC to repeal SP-1 and 2. Okamura said he would like
to hold a town hall meeting with Chancellor Albert Carnesale and
the UC Board of Regents. “It would be ideal to get a town
hall meeting about SP-1 and SP-2, but I don’t know how
feasible that is,” he said.