Undergraduate student government spends $3 million a year in student fee money, and they appoint dozens of students to important boards and committees on campus.
They spend your money flying to conferences, organizing events, lobbying, doing community service, providing entertainment and funding countless other student organizations.
Whether you like it or not, the Undergraduate Students Association Council matters, and every student that does not vote in this week’s election is doing this entire campus a disservice. Many students claim that USAC isn’t visible on campus, and it’s hard to tell what they are doing that matters.
Have you ever been to the Annual JazzReggae Festival? That’s organized by the USAC Cultural Affairs Commission. Ever been to a free sneak or a $2 movie? That’s funded and organized by the USAC Campus Events Commission.
Do you care about student health insurance or the quality of service at the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center? The USAC president appoints students to sit on the Student Health Advisory Committee.
Do you care how your student fees are spent? The USAC president appoints students to sit on the Student Fee Advisory Committee, which recommends directly to Chancellor Block how student fees should be spent.
USAC also provides some level of funding to more than 100 student groups on campus that organize conferences, rallies and protests on a regular basis.
Most students at UCLA have a cause they care about, participate in a student group or attend the entertainment provided by student government. So why are the turnouts for the elections hovering around 20 percent year after year?
Did you know that there is an initiative on the ballot this year that could raise your fees $4 a quarter to fund an ill-advised program that will likely not make this campus any greener or energy-efficient? You can vote against that.
Every day countless students power walk up and down Bruin Walk with their sunglasses on and earphones in drowning out the background noise to and from class.
We don’t blame students for wanting to ignore the daily politics of Bruin Walk ““ but this week is different. If someone in a brightly colored shirt wants to hand you a flier and talk about the USAC elections, you should take a minute and listen.
These people have important jobs and direct access to administrators at UCLA, the UC Board of Regents, members of the Academic Senate and countless other people who make decisions about how this campus is run on a daily basis. Their job is to advocate on your behalf, and if you don’t vote and don’t care, they have no reason to represent your opinion.
You will also notice that there are two main political parties, or slates, on campus. Like in any election, the political party doesn’t matter. The ideologies of Bruins United and Students First! are very close, and though there are important differences, they do not outweigh the individuality of the candidates themselves.
It might be easier to find a slate you like and just vote along party lines, but we implore you to research each candidate’s platform individually and make an educated decision about each contested position on council. You can visit dailybruin.com/news/2008/apr/30/usac-elections-2008 for more information about all the candidates.
Unsigned editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily Bruin Editorial Board.