For years, Jose Manaiza dreamt of coming to UCLA.
When he was growing up in Honduras, he heard about the school on television, saw the name and logo on T-shirts, and watched its world-class athletes compete.
The fourth-year mathematics and economics student said that once here, he took advantage of all that UCLA had to offer, and that now he would like the chance to give back to the university.
In an effort to do so, Manaiza is running for president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council under the True Bruins slate.
Manaiza’s mother, Xiomara Centeno, said her son’s greatest strength as a candidate is his inborn leadership abilities. She said that Manaiza has been able to lead groups of people since he was a young child.
An active member of the UCLA community, Manaiza has served as a mentor, peer advisor, tutor and resident assistant, though he was released from that last position earlier this year.
“We all have one thing in common and that is to pursue academic success and contribute to our community through civic engagement,” he said.
Manaiza is one of the few candidates this year who chose to sign the voluntary spending cap agreement, which limits the amount of money candidates can spend on their campaigns.
He said he believes signing the agreement is an indication that he is socially responsible and is not interested in what he calls “buying votes.”
Manaiza said his supporters will be the ones to get the word out for his campaign.
“People who directly know me as a mentor, peer advisor, RA and tutor will motivate people to vote,” he said.
Centeno said she believes her son’s peers think so highly of him because he is dynamic, highly motivated, compassionate and full of love.
She said he truly works well with others and is what she calls a peacemaker.
“He has the ability to care for others. It is something that was born in him since he was a little kid,” she said.
Manaiza said he believes not running under one of the traditional slates makes him a better representative of UCLA students.
“It is an advantage to elect me; I am a voice independent from the political dominance of the slates who have the detrimental jobs of representing the needs and desire of only select students,” he said.
If elected, Manaiza said he plans on capitalizing on his independent voice by creating a network of student groups so they can interact easily with one another and come together to work for causes that concern the general student body.
In addition to creating a student group network, Manaiza said he is committed to creating a new policy for allocating USAC funds to student groups.
In talking to student groups, he has heard concerns that the current system is not fair or transparent enough, and he hopes to change that by allocating money based on need.
“Money should be distributed based on the cost of the program that each group has,” he said.
Along with making funds more available to student groups, Manaiza said he would like to focus on helping students become aware of the resources UCLA has to offer.
In order to do so, he plans to create a centralized Web site to display campus activities and resources.
“This will benefit everyone,” he said.
Manaiza said he would also like to help the UCLA College, Academics in the Commons, and the Office of Residential Life expand and promote programs designed to help first-year students “maintain, retain and promote academic success” from their freshman year through their graduation.
“I will promote these programs by fliering (and) investing USAC funding into marketing those resources strongly on the Hill and in the apartments,” he said.
Manaiza said though he recognizes he has many goals, he believes he is capable of making changes because he truly represents the student body.
Andrew Lamming, a third-year philosophy student, said he has no doubt Manaiza will make a good USAC president.
“He will give (the position) more time and energy than anyone can ask,” Lamming said. “He can do anything he sets his mind to. He’s so grateful to be here, and he feels so blessed that he wouldn’t give anything less than all he has to this position.”
When he is on campus with Manaiza, Lamming said they can hardly walk a hundred yards before running into someone Manaiza knows. From watching his interactions with other students, Lamming said he believes Manaiza is very well liked.
“Everyone knows him and everyone has positive feelings about him. There isn’t anyone who doesn’t respect him or isn’t proud to know him,” he said.