Monday, 6/9/97 Students First! spurs increased activism
POLITICS: Increasing national conservatism leads to UCLA’s
reputation of dabbling in controversial issues
By Stefanie Wong Daily Bruin Staff Rallies, marches and
campaigns organized by the Undergraduate Student Association
Council have not been uncommon over the past two years under
Students First! control. However, four years ago, the student
government’s focus was on campus issues, and large-scale social
protests were not a part of the presidents’ agendas. The
council-encouraged activism of the past two years has added to
UCLA’s reputation for being one of the most politically charged
universities in the nation. "There’s been a long history of student
activism on important social issues throughout the history of
student government at UCLA," said York Chang, an alumnus and
1994-1995 undergraduate president. "Student government should be
used to bring students together on important issues that affect us
in our education," he added. However, the USAC has not always been
as politically charged – four years ago, under the presidencies of
Kate Anderson and Rob Greenhalgh, the main concern of student
government was campus issues, not politics. The election of
Students First! two years ago – and therefore a more politically
charged student government – has been attributed to the rise of
conservatism in the state and federal governments. "Structurally,
with the rise of the right, (state and national governments)
started putting out certain divisive measures to gain political
power," Chang said. "A lot of it had to do with hurting different
students on campus and deprioritizing student issues and
people-of-color issues." In 1995, when Chang was elected as the
first Students First! president, the state had just passed
Proposition 187 and Republicans dominated the House of
Representatives for the first time in 40 years. Since then, the
state has seen the abolishing of affirmative action in hiring and
the admissions process, as well as attacks on welfare. While this
trend toward a more conservative state and national government
began during Anderson’s and Greenhalgh’s administrations, the
student government did not prioritize political issues. "Things
weren’t as politically heated then. We did not have the issues of
(Propositions) 187 or 209 right in our face," said Ben Hofilena, a
staff member during Greenhalgh’s presidency. "I think we had the
opportunity to concentrate more on campus issues." The focus under
Anderson and Greenhalgh was on campus-based issues such as having
adequate study space during finals week and expanding course
tutorials beyond those offered by the Academic Advancement Program.
Good relations with administrators was also a priority, prompting
the creation of the Student Participation in University Governance
program. However, situations at the state and national levels began
to overshadow the need to focus only on campus-based issues. "I
think that there was a series of events and attacks on higher
education that caused student government to become more political,"
Hofilena said. Many saw the abolishing of affirmative action in the
UC admission process by the regents and attacks on immigrant rights
as a need for a more politically charged student government. "(The
issues) made a lot of people say that we need to protect the
affordability of education and access to this institution," said
Chang. To some, the answer for a more politically active student
government was found in electing members from the Students First!
slate. Results from 1995 and 1996 elections show that both Chang
and current undergraduate President John Du defeated their closest
opponents by 16.04 percent and 26 percent, respectively. Students
First! believed that winning by these margins proved the
undergraduate student body wanted a more political government to
address the state and national issues. "I think students at UCLA
mandated that we have an active student government because a lot of
the things that we do are not only educational and political but
also very proactive," said Du. "They saw the track record that
(Students First!) had and our ability to organize," he added.
However, while some reason that Students First! came into power
because of the need for a more political student government, others
feel the slate’s majority can be attributed to the group’s ability
to mobilize its constituents and hold onto a strong voting base. "I
think (Students First!) was effective at getting out a positive
message of what we could do with student government," Chang said.
Next year’s Students First!-dominated council also proves to be as
politically charged as the previous two student governments.
President Kandea Mosley has already discussed the need to address
the issue of education versus prisons and the role of the
university in society as a whole. A trend for more political
student governments may now be set because of the three years of
Students First! control. However, some believe that there will be a
move toward a less political USAC. "I think there’s definitely a
trend but I think that eventually there’s going to be students who
are going to get tired of politics," Hofilena said. "If you look at
this year’s elections there were more parties who said they hated
politics and they actually outnumbered Students First! and Access
Coalition," he added. JUSTIN WARREN/Daily Bruin Students First!
members, including Albert Rentana and John Du, outgoing president
of Undergraduate Student Association Council, have led student
government to forefront of controversial political issues. Daily
Bruin file photo Gov. Pete Wilson’s crusade in summer 1995 spelled
the beginning of the end for affirmative action programs. Previous
Daily Bruin Story Voting begins for USAC elections