Editorial: USAC Election Board should punish early, illicit online campaigning

Nearly every UCLA student government election sees election code violations punished inadequately or not punished at all. Just as they did last year, candidates from the Undergraduate Students Association Council slates LET’S ACT! and Bruins United posted photos on personal social media accounts weeks before the approved start date for online campaigning. The candidates have […]

Editorial: UCLA must speed up water conservation efforts

California’s first-ever water mandate announced last week raised alarms that water conservation isn’t happening fast enough in the state – including at campuses like UCLA. UCLA has already started taking important steps toward reducing its water usage in the long term. But California’s water shortage is in an emergency state, and the university needs to […]

Editorial: USAC right to offer incentives to increase voter turnout

UCLA students don’t vote in their undergraduate elections. Last year’s Undergraduate Students Association Council spring election summoned an abysmal 30 percent of students to vote, while the Fall special election drew less than 20 percent, invalidating important ballot referendums. For the past several years, voter turnout has hovered around 35 percent. In an attempt to […]

Editorial: USAC councilmembers’ resignations set troubling precedent

Carlos Quintanilla’s resignation Thursday marked the third time a student-elected officer has left their student government position this school year. Quintanilla cited personal reasons for his departure and declined to comment any further. The Undergraduate Students Association Council also did not announce the resignation to the student body. Only about a month into his term, […]

Editorial: Napolitano responsible for regaining student trust after protest comment

Last week, University of California President Janet Napolitano expressed an insultingly cavalier attitude toward student protesters at the UC Board of Regents meeting, endangering her already precarious relationship with a distrustful student body and toppling her carefully crafted image as a concerned and understanding administrator. Now, it’s Napolitano’s responsibility to mend fences, preferably by putting […]

Editorial: Napolitano responsible for regaining student trust after protest comment

Last week, University of California President Janet Napolitano expressed an insultingly cavalier attitude toward student protesters at the UC Board of Regents meeting, endangering her already precarious relationship with a distrustful student body and toppling her carefully crafted image as a concerned and understanding administrator. Now, it’s Napolitano’s responsibility to mend fences, preferably by putting […]

Editorial: UCLA responsible for educating students on forms of discrimination

A series of missteps by our undergraduate student government – which culminated with the nationally publicized questioning of Judicial Board candidate Rachel Beyda because of her involvement with the Jewish community – has pointed to a crucial need for university officials to educate students on more subtle instances of discrimination and hate speech. Students – […]