If you want to run for president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council without being a member of Bruins United or Students First!, you had better be either as rich as Ross Perot, or as crazy.
There is a two-party system that has so dominated USAC for the last two years that our undergraduate student government appears impenetrable for the unaffiliated. The only problem with that is that more independent officers are the only way to save USAC from the partisan bog it has, in the past, shown itself to be.
The irony of all this partisanship is that, for all their dissonance, the groups identify themselves the same way.
“We are the party of the people,” they each will say, “unlike my opponent, I represent all the students.”
It’s too processed and entirely too catty for an undergraduate government, as this is a council that should, if nothing else, involve the free discourse of ideas.
Students First! was founded 12 years ago and has played a major, if not dominating, role for its entire existence. USAC Internal Vice President Gregory Cendana, the slate’s current presidential candidate, explained that Students First! promotes “educational access, an affordable college experience, and a safer environment,” seeing USAC as “an advocacy body for social change.”
Bruins United, on the other hand, was formed just two years ago as a response to the then exclusive nature of USAC. Marwa Kaisey, USAC president and member of Bruins United, explained that, until a couple of years ago, only about 20 student advocacy groups could apply for USAC funding. “You had one student group getting 10s of thousands of dollars every year while the others couldn’t even apply,” she says.
Because such funding distribution was illegal, Bruin Democrats and Bruin Republicans joined forces and threatened to sue for inclusive government. More student groups joined the cause and formed Bruins United, believing, as Kaisey says, that “student government should work for all students.”
So basically, Bruins United is adamant about letting everyone have a turn and everyone have a voice, while Students First! wants to ensure that everyone’s voice, when spoken, is heard. Both viewpoints are valid and both share a great deal of common ground, but unfortunately much of it gets lost in the politics.
Farheen Malik, USAC Community Service commissioner and one of the three independent members on the 13-member council, explained, “I don’t see us governing. I see us as advocates and I don’t think adding politics to that situation will make us effective advocates.”
Malik informed me that they are both right in their own way, but that they just prioritize differently. Bruins United is focused on the campus itself, campus programs and campus issues, while Students First! focuses more on fees, retention and diversity. Both lay a legitimate claim on representing the students.They are two different viewpoints on the same issue and both have a large following, so a compromise is necessarily the best way to serve the needs of the greatest amount of students.
Malik explained, “Realistically, you can’t represent every student on campus, but you can understand that you are voted into this position to give students a voice ““ as many as you can.”
Unfortunately, the slates aren’t going anywhere. They’re far too efficient in getting and maintaining support. Nine people all campaigning for each other means nine times more resources and networks. It’s that simple. The two-party system in this way is inevitable because, if there’s an organized slate, it will have a significant advantage over anyone who tries to go it alone.
In fact, the difficulty of getting elected as an independent may be one of the only things Cendana, Kaisey and Malik will outwardly agree on, but it’s that very fact that makes independent candidates more important than ever.
“To be honest with you,” Kaisey says, “I would much prefer a three- or four-party system … I like to see more viewpoints at the table. UCLA is so diverse, it can’t be represented by just two parties.”
A bipolar USAC leaves too many opinions unexpressed. If more independent candidates get elected, more opinions will be at the table, and the dilution of the oil-and-water division could mean a much more productive, progressive council.
I can say with certainty that the presidential candidates for both Bruins United and Students First! are qualified and dedicated. But we shouldn’t dismiss the possibility that there may be someone with vision, someone who could raise new ideas and lead this campus, who might fall somewhere between the twin goalposts of Students First! and Bruins United.
USAC and UCLA as a whole would do well to remember that the loudest voice is not always the best.
Reach O’Bryan at the Reform Party headquarters, or at jobryan@media.ucla.edu.
Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.