Friday, May 16, 1997
Students First! secures majority in runoff
USAC:
Slate sweeps; Access Coalition vows continued involvementBy
Stefanie Wong
Daily Bruin Staff
Chanting and cheering echoed through Kerckhoff Hall as results
of the final student government election revealed that Students
First! members swept the four remaining seats on the council.
The victories guaranteed that Students First! members will hold
11 of the 13 seats on the Undergraduate Student Association Council
(USAC) next year, with independent candidates filling the remaining
two positions.
Approximately 40 Students First! slate members and supporters
celebrated their victory outside of Kerckhoff Hall late Thursday
night, while about 20 members of the newly formed Students for
Ethical Government group looked on.
"By the students’ votes, we can see that they voted for Students
First!," said general representative-elect Jo Ann Ley. "We’ve all
worked as a collective and we’ve come out strong,"
In addition, facilities commissioner-elect An Le’s clear win
with 68 percent of the vote ensured that each Students First!
candidate will hold an office next year  the second time in
USAC’s history that a slate sweep has occurred.
Students First! members believe that they have received a
mandate from the students.
"I think that the negative campaigning did not work," said
current USAC President and Students First! member John Du. "I think
students are more interested in the positive and concrete victories
that Students First! have had, and spoke through their votes," he
added.
Primary elections held last week failed to elect the three
general representatives and facilities commissioners because no
candidate received the required percentage of votes needed to win
that contest outright.
Runoff elections for the offices were held this week between the
candidates from Students First! and Access Coalition, the highest
vote recipients from last week’s elections.
Despite the need to go to final elections, Students First!
members were confident that they would be victorious this year,
giving most of the credit to their supporters.
"I knew that we would come out and that our mobilization" would
bring our support together, said general representative-elect Joe
Medico.
Students First! already plans to continue the programs and
campaigns established by this year’s student government, promising
to continue their adherence to grass-roots organizing and
dedication to students.
A total of 2,171 students cast their ballots in this week’s
elections, constituting less than 10 percent of the estimate 24,000
undergraduates enrolled at UCLA.
Candidates believe that the small percentage of voters says
nothing about what the student body as a whole wants from their
student government.
"USAC as it is right now very effectively represents a very
small percentage of the students on campus," said Access Coalition
facilities commissioner candidate Telly Tse.
"I commend their efforts, but seriously question their ethics,
behavior, integrity and funding (methods)," added Access
Coalition’s general representative candidate Roee Ruttenberg.
Despite their losses, a few candidates feel that their
participation in the elections has been worth their time and
effort.
"I am extremely proud of Access Coalition and what we’re all
about," said presidential candidate Ben Hofliena. "Rest assured,
this is not the end of Access."
Candidates also believe that their involvement with the student
government will not end simply because they have not been
elected.
"I may not have an office in USAC, but this is not the end of my
involvement or desire to make sure that all students are
represented," Tse said.