Houston is a fourth-year political science student and president
of USAC.
By Elizabeth Houston
On April 5, I received a letter of resignation from Alex Kaplan,
our Election Board chairman. I supported Kaplan’s decision
because, in my opinion, the integrity of his position as an
independent counsel to the Undergraduate Students Association
Council was compromised by the actions of Internal Vice President
Elias Enciso and members of the council.
So here is the background. Last quarter, certain council members
did not show up for our ninth week meeting at which they were to
vote on the proposed election method and calendar. Therefore, I
called a council meeting during tenth week. Time was ticking away,
and council members had expressed specific concerns over the method
by which this spring’s USAC election would be held.
But we were not going to meet quorum (the amount of members
needed to hold an official meeting), so the meeting was cancelled.
Consequently, Kaplan was forced to determine the electoral process
based upon his own judgement and that of administrative advisors,
because of certain council members’ irresponsibility.
Though the proposals of the Election Board chairperson are
subject to the approval of the council, the members of the council
are often linked to potential candidates in the election or are
potential candidates themselves.
The USAC bylaws call for the chairperson to be an independent
counsel, apolitical and responsible for providing the students with
a fair, practical method of voting. Alex Kaplan, as USAC Election
Board chairman, did just this.
At the first meeting of spring quarter, the council members
voted not to approve the election method that was already being
implemented by the Election Board. The reasons for this action by
the council were numerous issues with the security of the online
method. That is obviously a valid concern.
The security of the online method, however, is proportional to
that of the historical paper ballot method. And if our precious
grades can remain secure on My.UCLA, then we should have nothing to
be afraid of with election results.
Though administrators in charge of the My.UCLA online election
process vouched for a secure system, council members, specifically
Enciso, continued to oppose the Election Board’s proposal.
Instead, Enciso proposed his own method to the council.
Internal Vice President Enciso, who is a potential presidential
candidate in this year’s election, is manipulating and
determining the format, method and calendar of this year’s
election process.
The eight members of Praxis who sit on our council have, despite
logic and duty, voted to ignore the administration, the expert
advisors and the will of the people. They act as though they are
above the law, intent on controlling the system and manipulating
the election.
Why have such actions continued seemingly unnoticed? The voices
that try to point out the culprits are silenced and intimidated by
accusations of racism, discrimination and intolerance.
I have received many e-mails from UCLA students, professors,
alumni and UCLA students overseas who are tired of the bullying
tactics of Praxis, the greed and abuse of power, the disrespect for
the administration and the law.
There are hundreds of students who are tired of it; just as my
election was a vote of protest against Praxis, so is the
resignation of the USAC Election Board chairman.
An honest, apolitical man is quitting his job because he refuses
to be a pawn for a political agenda. Just as those e-mails thanked
me for standing up to Praxis, I want to thank and commend Alex
Kaplan for demonstrating integrity by refusing to be manipulated by
Praxis, for putting the welfare of the students first.
Kaplan’s action is a protest so that the students may be
aware of what is really going on. He has remained apolitical and
has done an excellent job as our Election Board Chairperson this
entire year.
That’s why I am writing this. Furthermore, Kaplan deserves
the support of the you, the students, because he has stood his
ground, demanding integrity from your representatives, the members
of the council. He demonstrated the fairness, common sense and
integrity that should mark anyone serving the student body.
I cannot see how such words of praise can be attributed to our
Internal Vice President and the seven other members of Praxis that
sit on the current council. This should not and will not surprise
anyone who has been an objective observer of the actions of the
Praxis members of the council this past year (and the six-plus
years before this one).
Rather, this situation is signature of the manipulative and
selfish actions of the Praxis council members.
At the heart of this issue is the lack of integrity and the
power-hungry, manipulative nature of the group called Praxis. They
believe themselves to be above the law, accountable to no one
except themselves. I find this characteristic detrimental and
self-destructive and certainly intolerable in any government,
student or otherwise.
I place the issue in your hands. The students of this
university, regardless of political affiliation, should demand and
support integrity from their elected and appointed student
government representatives.
The integrity of the Undergraduate Students Association
elections has been compromised because it is no longer controlled
by the Election Board chairperson but by the council and Enciso,
potential presidential candidate.
Florida was child’s play, people.