Rizkalla will attend UCLA’s Graduate School of Education
and Information Studies.
By David Rizkalla
I am writing in response to last week’s Undergraduate
Students Association Council meeting and the events I witnessed
there. Along with others, I have been following the Hatfield vs.
McCoy-type feud that has existed between current USAC President
Elizabeth Houston and certain council members.
I have also been attending the meetings on and off since
Houston’s election and have been pleased to see that the
Daily Bruin has covered the hate-filled meetings in Kerckhoff
Hall.
The same council members that attacked Houston also questioned
the newspaper’s role in the council. I was a bit taken back.
Didn’t they enjoy the publicity that came from the Bruin?
Elisa Sequeira went so far as to call the Daily Bruin a
“tabloid” based on the exposure it has given to the
conflict within USAC. I agree that the media should take
responsibility for its impact on society.
Is that not what the school newspaper is for? To report the
progress, or lack thereof in USAC’s case, of important topics
on campus. Don’t we like to call that “free
press,” or has Praxis been hurt by the daylight that has
seeped into its castle?
 Illustration by JASON CHEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Last
Tuesday night, Sequeira also said, “People are not going to
want to be a part of government if this is what they are reading in
The Bruin.” I disagree; people will get behind what they
believe is right in order to see whether change occurs.
I spoke to a student just after the Houston victory who said,
“I am so glad that Elizabeth is president. When I got to UCLA
I wanted to be involved in student government, but after I heard
about Praxis and the way they treat people, I lost
interest.”
The students are interested in change, as was evident by the
election results. It is USAC’s responsibility to deliver that
change.
Allow me to give an example. When Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke
about the racial injustice at his time, he used the newspaper to
inform people of what was going on. People became aware and got
involved in the political machinery that would bring about civil
rights. The publicity motivated people to be involved, and
ultimately led to the beginnings of a historical movement.
To say that students will become more apathetic is an excuse to
try to intimidate the Daily Bruin writers, as Praxis has done with
anyone who opposes them.
Further proof of the benefits of the Daily Bruin’s role in
the USAC meetings is evident in the articles by Jeff Hale, Jason
Krause (“Council agenda does not cater to majority of
incoming freshmen” and “Uplifting speech
appreciated,” Daily Bruin, Viewpoint, Oct. 3) and others that
reflect the desire for the truth to be exposed.
I believe the truth is clear. First, Praxis oppose Elizabeth
Houston because they believe she is a product of “white
privilege” (which no one has dared disagree with, and thus
their silence gives validity to the mistreatment of President
Houston) and a Christian background. Second, they seek to
intimidate and eliminate anyone who gets in the way of their
agenda, (which is to take over all aspects of student government
for the purposes of their own personal agenda, not the betterment
of the entire student body).
Third, it is apparent that truth and genuine tolerance are not
the ultimate desire of the council, as displayed by the blatant
alienation of the president.
Now that the rest of the campus has access to what many others
and I have seen at the Tuesday night meetings, the response of
select members is, “Don’t use the school newspaper,
come talk to me in person!” It was not considered a tabloid
when articles where being published to support the Praxis side of
things.
I respectfully remind USAC of our constitutional right to
freedom of speech. It is the very basis of the arguments that have
taken place at the council table.
We are all aware that 40 or 50 years ago, topics now considered
by USAC wouldn’t have been discussed in any person’s
home let alone in a public forum. Thankfully, they are being
addressed and we are moving toward a solution, because something
needs to be done about the real issues.
Two weeks ago when Elias Enciso, (Internal Vice President) got
upset about an issue in the council meeting, he got up and stormed
out, refusing to hear the opposing side.
This is an example of an immature attitude that is present at
all USAC council meetings. It is as if Praxis has declared,
“If you’re not with me, you’re against me.”
Attitudes like this are why students have lost interest in being
involved with student government.
Light is now being shed on the situation in USAC. Shedding light
on USAC’s conflicts gives the entire campus the truth of
where the roots of UCLA’s discrimination, racism and
intolerance are … in Kerckhoff.