The inherent structure of the Students First! slate is barely
visible to the naked eye, but with its support group of more than
20 organizations, extensive recruitment strategies and decades of
progressive history behind them, this structure is significant.
And as several opposition slates have discovered, the structure
is hard to crack.
Since the creation of the slate in 1994, Students First! has had
a prominent presence in campus politics, winning the presidential
seat seven out of 10 years. The slate is generally comprised of
minority student groups, including Samahang Pilipino, MEChA, the
African Student Union and the Muslim Student Association, among
others.
Like in past years, some of this year’s candidates vying
for an office in the Undergraduate Students Association Council
have visions and platforms with which they hope to combat the
dominance of Students First! ““ and this year, they believe,
is different.
“This is an unprecedented period of time. … Students
First! is losing power,” said general representative
candidate Brian Neesby, who is running under the Equal Access
Coalition.
Neesby believes that Students First! councilmembers’
efforts to preserve USAC’s funding policies are beginning to
backfire. According to USAC bylaws, council can only fund groups
that are officially recognized and are not politically or
religiously based. But due to Supreme Court rulings, University of
California guideline revisions and administrative intervention,
there is a push to open funding to all student groups.
Traditionally, Students First! has been opposed to opening up
funding ““ a view that has drawn opposition from other slates,
student groups and most recently, the administration.
Tackling the issue and opening funding to independent groups is
a priority in Neesby’s slate, which he says was formed in
part as a reaction to Students First! and partly to realize their
goal of making student government accessible to all students.
Neesby believes the winds are changing and that his
slate’s chances of winning are good this year because the
slate represents a larger portion of campus.
The same statement that Students First! was not representative
of most students was echoed by candidates running under the
Students United for Reform and Equality slate exactly a year
ago.
Today, leaders of the once-thriving slate say SURE is almost
dead.
Adam Harmetz, last year’s presidential candidate under
SURE, attributes this downfall to the lack of a viable presidential
candidate. Gideon Baum, last year’s internal vice
presidential candidate under SURE, said that after losing most
council seats last year, many leaders simply wanted to move on.
The last 10 years has seen the death of many slates. There was
the United Independents, the Access Coalition, Unity ’97,
Bruin Vision, Viable Alternative and the United Students. And
Students First! ““ though undergoing a few name changes and an
internal rift that was later patched ““ has withstood all
opposition.
Members of Students First! say the slate’s viability comes
from their long-term goals to promote diversity, fight fee
increases, and hold the university accountable ““ goals that
the slate believes can never be completely accomplished.
“Other slates are reactions to Students First! … We have
a lot more work to do; we have a long-term vision. That’s
what’s missing in the other slates,” said current
Internal Vice President Allende Palma/Saracho, who is running for
the presidency under Students First!.
External Vice President Matt Kaczmarek attributes Students
First!’s successful runs in elections to the long history of
progressive organizing that took place on campus beginning in the
1960s and ’70s.
But for the decades that followed, it was the Greek system that
dominated student government. Student activists resurfaced in the
mid-1990s as a reaction to implementation of policies like the
anti-illegal immigration Proposition 187 in 1994 and the passing of
SP-1 and SP-2 in 1995, which banned the consideration of race in
the UC’s admissions and hiring policies. The policies were
later repealed, largely as a symbolic gesture, in 2001.
“As long as there are attacks on the issues of access,
there will be coalitions who care about these issues,”
Kaczmarek said.
In comparison to other slates, Students First! members say they
have a different perspective on student government.
Opposition slates generally want to bring more students to
student government, wheras Students First! wants to utilize the
resources in student government to better the communities it
represents.
This strategy often results in the Students First! coalition
being mostly insular and almost invisible to the average
student.
“Its not about the attention or the publicity; it’s
about using student government. … It’s really about doing a
lot of work and doing it quietly,” Kaczmarek said,
acknowledging that Students First! often shies away from the
publicity during elections, while other slates more actively pursue
coverage.
The slate is continuously re-evaluated, activist alumni always
kept connected, and future leaders continually trained,
Palma/Saracho said.
Because of the established structure already in place, opposing
candidates believe many students may feel marginalized by the
dominance of Students First!.
Specifically, the candidates who are running as independents
hope to reform the slate system, which they say limits the amount
of representation there can be on council.
“Slates find their core groups and don’t see any
need to add new groups and reach out to new groups,” said
independent presidential candidate Doug Ludlow, adding that he
hopes USAC can one day end the slate system.