After a series of endorsement hearings and debates, 30 student
organizations on campus provided their approval and support for the
candidates running in the undergraduate student government
election.
While some groups only endorsed candidates of a particular
slate, other organizations endorsed candidates who were
independent.
With a history of support from ethnic student groups, it was no
different this year when most ethnic-based organizations endorsed
candidates from the Student Power! slate, formally known as
Students First!
Daniela Conde, a representative from MEChA, said her group chose
to endorse candidates from Student Power! and general
representatives from Future Front, a newly created group, because
their platforms reflect what the MECha believes in. MEChA is a
student-run campus retention program created 14 years ago to
increase university access for Latino students.
The Student Power! slate is not running any candidates for the
general representative positions.
Unlike last year’s endorsement of Students First!, the
African Student Union has endorsed candidates only from the Future
Front slate.
Other student groups endorsed candidates that fell under the
Bruins United slate, the other major slate in this year’s
elections.
The Bruins United slate garnered the support of student groups
within the Jewish community, whereas those same groups endorsed
different candidates last year.
The Jewish Student Union and Bruins for Israel endorsed the same
candidates from Bruins United. Hillel at UCLA, which has not
endorsed candidates for USAC elections in recent years, also
endorsed the same Bruins United candidates.
Leeron Morad, a spokesman for Bruins for Israel, said, “It
wasn’t easy because (the candidates) were all very good, but
it seemed like Bruins United was more open to giving funding to
groups such as ours.”
Also following a similar pattern, Bruin Democrats and Bruin
Republicans endorsed candidates from Bruins United.
“(The Bruins United) slate appealed to us because (it)
came to us and wanted to work with us,” said Morgan Miller,
the internal vice president of Bruin Democrats, regarding her
organization’s endorsements.
Kristina Doan, the current president of Bruin Democrats, is
running for the internal vice president seat with Bruins
United.
Bruin Republican chairman Matthew Knee cited similar reasons for
his club’s endorsements; in addition, he supports Bruins
United candidates for representing “important principles of
American democracy.”
Some organizations that have a history of making endorsements,
such as the Panhellenic Council, have decided not to give
endorsements to candidates this year.
“We wanted to place our focus on just involvement and
participation in the voting process and let the women choose the
candidate they felt was the most qualified,” said Sara Merar,
the president of the Panhellenic Council.
Not all candidates ran with a slate, but that did not stop the
independents from receiving endorsements. All independent
candidates are running unopposed in the election.
Jason Kiminsky, candidate for Campus Events commissioner, is
running as an independent and prefers not to run with a slate.
“My favorite part about (not joining a slate) is that
I’m not obligated to align with slates, and I’m more
open to take in the facts and make my decision,” he said.
“I think endorsements should be based on what you stand for
rather than what slate you’re in.”
Candidates from the Bruin Liberation Movement slate were absent
from the endorsement hearings. In a statement, BLM presidential
candidate Jake Strom said, “We have sought to capture the
hearts and minds of the forgotten majority ““ the
apathetic,” and added that he believes students become
disillusioned with USAC because representatives are wedded to
special-interest student groups.
Tuesday will be the first of three days during which students
will be allowed to vote online through MyUCLA.