Friday, May 1, 1998
Martin Chippas
Presidential candidate Martin Chippas
is a third-year student majoring in political science.
What is the role of the USAC president?
The constitutional role of the president is to preside over the
USAC meetings and to be a representative at ASUCLA meetings.
I have parliamentary procedure experience and I will run the
meetings under "Roberts Rule," and I will make appointments and I
will make rulings on whether things are in order or not.
But also, I think the president is sort of the leader of
whatever coalition you have built, and, if I have the capacity, I
will try to get accomplished all the various planks our platform
and slate is running on.
It is going to be a big sport no matter what, because there are
people who are running unopposed on both (slates). So obviously, if
I am elected, I will have to do some compromising with other
groups. I am willing to listen to them. What I have heard from the
endorsement hearings is that if (Praxis) has the majority, they are
not willing to work with us. If we have the majority and we are
elected to work with them, we will work with them.
We are going to submit our views because it is a democracy on
this campus and we will compromise with them if necessary, with the
exception of the political issue.
If elected, what direction do you plan on taking USAC?
The main reason why all of us on the Sanity slate are running
for student government is because we have seen here, at UCLA, a
student government that has not addressed all of the concerns of
the student body. They have been really interested in promoting a
particular ideology and promoting the concerns of only a few groups
that support it. What I want to do is open it up to all the student
groups that want to participate in (student government) and who
want to put on any event or program that will benefit UCLA as a
whole, the success of UCLA as a whole, and I think that is our
primary purpose and that is what I am going to try to do.
What are three major issues facing the university in the
upcoming year?
Obviously what I just addressed, the accessibility issue, ending
the special status of just certain groups. We are going to treat
all groups equally, we’re going to provide them funding for
facilities on the basis of what programs they are going to do and
how they are benefitting the campus and on the size of the
organization, not on whether they support us personally.
The two other big issues on the campus are the issues of parking
and housing. These issues have not been adequately addressed by the
people who have controlled student government and the people who
are running for re-election now. We are going to do our best to
work with the administration and the people in charge.
Do you think there should be a change in the admissions
criteria? If so, how do you propose implementing them?
I think the drop of underrepresented minorities on campus is a
reflection of the problems with affirmative action. I think
affirmative action masks the problem … which is the case of
troubled education. Education in a lot of communities is completely
inadequate. That is not really something that student government
can do very much about, with the exception of outreach programs,
which try to get to these communities for people who are qualified
but who otherwise wouldn’t apply here. So we (the Sanity slate)
support the various organizations on campus who are already doing
that and we will fund them in any way we can that involves their
participation at UCLA. But, when it comes to what they are doing
off campus, we support them, but we don’t think the students should
have to pay for something that they do not support.
Some have criticized USAC for being too political. Is it
appropriate for USAC to take a stance on political issues?
USAC is more than just too political; they are entirely
political. They have used their power and their money to promote
their own political ideology. I know for a fact that it is not the
political ideology of everybody on campus and I think it is simply
wrong to take money from students for things they may or may not
support or believe in, which is why we are going to cut student
fees and stop using money for political things. I greatly encourage
students to get involved in politics. I think it is great. I
support free speech. I think campus organizations should address
and support anything that they believe in, but I don’t think
students should have to pay for things that they do not believe
in.
Where would you place yourself on the political spectrum?
I basically am libertarian on the political spectrum. I believe
in limited government and the absolute right of the individual. I’m
registered Republican but am definitely skewed toward the
libertarian side.