With the absence of Students First! in this year’s undergraduate student government elections comes the absence of a necessary element of competition.
Of the 13 offices on the ballot, only three will be contested in this year’s Undergraduate Students Association Council election.
Though Students First! decided early winter quarter not to run a slate, coalition members refrained from announcing it until April 20, after the April 18 deadline for filing an election application.
Sheena Santamaria, a fourth-year global studies student and member of Students First! who ran in last year’s election, said that if people want to get involved they should take the initiative.
“I don’t think that’s SF!’s responsibility,” Santamaria said.
This board, however, finds this delay to be a negligent move, as it prohibited interested students from potentially forming a new slate. We also challenge the commitment of the student groups that made up the coalition for failing to take action in the wake of Students First!’s decision.
Members of the coalition have been tight-lipped on the topic. As of press deadline, several members had not replied to requests for interviews and another declined to comment.
While the exact reasons may be unknown, one thing is certain: The way the coalition has handled this decision has been highly unprofessional, and has ultimately done a disservice not only to the student groups that align themselves with their slate but to all undergraduate students.
There is a lack of independent voices to fill the void left by Students First! in traditionally contested offices. Two of the three contested candidates declared independent were actually previously affiliated with Students First!
Adam Swart, a third-year political science student, chief of staff in the USAC President’s Office and independent presidential candidate in last year’s election, said he would have liked to see more independent candidates because they may bring interesting and beneficial ideas that may not necessarily be feasible to the debate. Swart, however, decided not to run again this year.
Without competition, an integral debate will be missing. A two-party model forces both sides to be more moderate. That’s not to downplay the qualifications of Bruins United’s uncontested candidates, as the slate in general has accomplished a number of its platforms this year.
But uncontested candidates will have little incentive to mold their platforms to the views of the majority.
In the absence of competition, the board urges the student body not to be apathetic and to hold candidates accountable. We also advise uncontested candidates to reevaluate themselves and their goals, while assessing the views of the public as well.
Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the editorial board.