Abortion, gun control, healthcare – it sometimes seems as though no one can agree on anything nowadays. The president comes up with a plan and Congress blocks it. Congress comes up with a plan and the president blocks it. Some have called the current government the least effective in American history. The past several years […]
Category Archives: Opinion
Editorial: USAC Election Board must disqualify Social Justice Referendum
Editor’s note: The referenda on the USAC ballot did not directly compete with one another, but in the interest of full transparency, we believe it is worth noting one of the referenda on this year’s ballot directly benefitted the Daily Bruin financially. The USAC Election Board must retroactively disqualify the Social Justice Referendum for incurring […]
No Offense, But: USAC Results
Live from the Daily Bruin conference room, Chris Campbell, Abhishek Shetty and Aaron Julian offer their reactions in the aftermath of Friday night’s USAC election. There was a lot happening, and lots to opine about. The Opinion columnists discuss voter turnout, the composition of next year’s council, political developments in this year’s election cycle and […]
Jasmine Aquino: Allowing USAC to campaign on the Hill would promote political dialogue
The flyers, high-fives and small talk from Undergraduate Students Association Council candidates don’t extend to the Hill, but USAC’s importance does. The 14 newly elected student officials will institute policies and services with millions of dollars’ worth of student fees. Every undergraduate student pays into USAC, and they are all affected by its decisions. But […]
Abhishek Shetty: USAC Election Board should extend physical campaigning period
Last Friday’s Undergraduate Students Association Council candidates debate was meant to be an important platform for uninformed voters to learn about the election. Instead, it turned out be a mutual-admiration society between overexcited supporters and their deities. Although that might seem very similar to the crowds at U.S. presidential debates, the USAC candidate debates were […]
Editorial: USAC Judicial Board shouldn’t rule in favor of Social Justice Referendum
Update: The Undergraduate Students Association Council Judicial Board ruled in favor of the Election Board Thursday morning. The referendum process has long been an attempt at direct democracy. With a petition and a cause, any group of students can put an initiative on the ballot to be judged by voters. Unfortunately, poor enforcement allows this process to […]
Aram Ghoogasian: Lax enforcement of USAC Election Code threatens democratic process
It didn’t take long for the student government election to spiral out of control. Before voting even began, it came to light that the Social Justice Referendum campaign had outspent the agreed-upon campaign finance limit nearly tenfold. The referendum reported that it spent upward of $7,400, far more than the $750 limit for ballot measures, […]