By Barbara Ortutay
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
By 127 votes, Elizabeth Houston put an end last week to the
five-year control of the Undergraduate Students Association Council
presidency by the Praxis slate and its predecessor, Students
First!
The result of the runoff elections for president came as a
surprise to both Houston, who ran as an independent candidate, and
to members of the slate that ran against her.
The reasons for the unexpected result ““ as USAC officials,
former candidates and Houston herself see it ““ range from the
transforming demographics of campus, to students tiring of this
year’s Praxis-dominated council, to aggressive and effective
campaigning tactics.
“It was a delightful surprise,” Houston said of last
Thursday’s announcement. “I was really hoping to win,
but winning is such a huge thing I didn’t think it would
happen, especially after Praxis won all the other
offices.”
Praxis members were not so delighted, though they hold eight of
the 13 spots on the council.
“I was very disappointed by the results. It’s a
direct result of SP-1, SP-2 and Prop. 209 and the changing
demographics of campus,” said current USAC President Mike de
la Rocha.
He said since the end of affirmative action, entering students
have come from more privileged, homogenous backgrounds and have
been less connected to issues like diversity. Houston’s
election, he said, reaffirms this.
“Her victory is the epitome of white privilege,” he
said.
Houston has been one of the strongest presidential candidates in
the last 15 years without widespread organizational support,
according to Michael Cohn, USAC Election Board advisor for the past
11 years.
He said this lack of affiliation with a slate may have been one
reason for Houston’s appeal.
“Students liked the fact that she wasn’t clearly
identified with any particular group,” he said.
Praxis members disagree, saying that Houston was clearly
supported by fraternities, sororities and Christian groups on
campus.
“She wasn’t independent by far. Her base was the
typical base that controlled USAC before Students First! ““
the white, Greek, male community,” said Katynja McCory, a
USAC general representative who ran against Houston under the
Praxis slate.
Several fraternities and sororities displayed signs supporting
Houston, and she was endorsed by the Bruin Victory Fellowship and
the On Campus Housing Council.
“I didn’t have a slate,” she said “My
sorority really pulled through for me. There were at least 20
people campaigning every day.”
In addition to these groups, many students who felt alienated by
Praxis this year threw their support behind Houston.
“She got at lot of the outright anti-Praxis group,”
said Bill Elliot, who ran unsuccessfully for a general
representative seat under the Viable Alternative slate.
“Everyone who didn’t like Praxis voted for
her.”
He added that students may have been turned off by the “in
your face” tactics of Praxis ““ such as protests.
Cohn said Houston also picked up support from students who felt
the need for a change.
“She definitely mobilized students involved in Christian
organizations. She definitely had Greek support, although I
don’t know how much of the Greek community she mobilized, and
she also had a tremendous amount of support from the residence
halls,” he said. “She appealed to general
students.”
Like de la Rocha, Elliot brought up the lack of connection to
issues like affirmative action among newer students not directly
affected by it, as one of the reasons for Houston’s
victory.
“Students now come from more homogenous backgrounds, and
their appreciation for diversity is less,” he said.
Houston’s intense campaign on and around campus may have
also brought out students who don’t generally vote. Her
parents, siblings and members of her sorority spent hours each day
handing out flyers and lollipops to voters. Although her campaign
““ as well as the people who campaigned for her ““ has
been criticized by Praxis as misleading and uninformed, others
commended her dedication.
“She campaigned her butt off,” Elliot said, adding
he was impressed by the amount of work Houston put into her
campaign.
But Marselle Washington, next year’s cultural affairs
commissioner and a Praxis member, said Houston misled students.
“Students were uninformed, lied to,” he said.
“A lot of things she said (Praxis) wasn’t working on
““ like safety ““ were untrue. Praxis was campaigning for
adapting a campus hate crime policy. If that’s not a campus
safety issue, then I don’t know what is.”
Washington added that Houston also sought to change things she
doesn’t have the power to do, like funding student groups
equally, which he said is impossible.
De la Rocha and Washington said a majority of the people
campaigning for Houston were not UCLA students, and they questioned
their knowledge of student issues.
But Houston said her campaigners were students, her relatives
and graduates of UCLA. Her parents took a two-week vacation to help
her in her campaign.
“I campaigned very hard, and I only won by 127 votes.
It’s obvious now that if anybody is going to run against
Praxis and stand a chance (he or she) has to run a hardcore
campaign,” Houston said.
McCory, however, didn’t see Houston as having a strong
platform.
“I don’t think she had a campaign,” she said,
adding that as a recent transfer student, Houston had little
experience and no stance on issues that affect students on
campus.
Houston, who transferred to UCLA this fall, has been criticized
for her lack of experience as compared to McCory, a fourth-year
student active in USAC.
De la Rocha said the fact that McCory, an African American woman
who he said was obviously the more qualified candidate,
didn’t get elected, “says a lot about this
campus.”
“Campus is changing. Not just in terms of racial and
gender diversity, but the mentality of students is changing,”
he said.
Houston acknowledged that she has a lot to learn, but she said
she is open and willing to work with Praxis members.
“I hope me beating their candidate will not prevent them
from working for me, from seeing me as a person and as a
leader,” she said.