By Marion Wise
Daily Bruin Contributor
Ramzi Ajami and Kennisha Austin, candidates for internal vice
president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council, hope
to address similar issues, but their plans for execution differ
based on their slates’ goals.
Ajami and Austin, who both recognize the importance of previous
interactions with student groups and USAC, square off for the IVP
position in the May 9-10 elections.
“It’s important to see the connection between
student organizations and USAC. You have to be involved in
both,” said Austin, a third-year psychology and African
American studies student running under the Student Empowerment!
slate.
As a former campus outreach coordinator for 1999-2000 USAC
President Mike de La Rocha, Austin serves as the current community
empowerment coordinator for the African Student Union.
Ajami, a third-year psychology student running under the
S.U.R.E. slate, which stands for Students United for Reform and
Equality, said his experiences give him the ability to understand
and work with groups of different political agendas.
“It’s sort of like I ran the gamut of political
ideology, and I worked with each group very well,” Ajami
said. “I’ve had the perspective of working with student
groups and with USAC, and on broader terms with the Student
Regent.”
Ajami is current chief of staff for USAC President Elizabeth
Houston, has worked with the On-Campus Housing Council and was an
assistant to 1998-99 Student Regent Max Espinoza. He ran for IVP
last year, but lost to current IVP Elias Enciso.
According to USAC bylaws, the IVP’s roles include
assisting the president, representing student organizations to
USAC, working with university police, and addressing student
housing and parking issues.
The IVP also sits on the Constitutional Review Committee, which
reviews USAC documents, and chairs the Appointments Review
Committee, which forwards to council names of students to on-campus
appointed positions.
Enciso, a fourth-year Chicana/o studies and political science
student, agreed with Ajami and Austin that the IVP needs to be
knowledgeable about both student groups and USAC.
“You need to have intricate knowledge of the workings of
the campus, and that goes for administration and student
relations,” Enciso said. “The role of the IVP is to
serve as liaison between student organizations and USAC. The IVP
should already have a repertoire with student
organizations.”
Along with other members of the S.U.R.E. slate, Ajami hopes to
establish a more representative form of government.
S.U.R.E.’s primary goal is to reform student government
through the establishment of a student senate.
According to its Web site, slate members want to create “a
senate system that protects the commissions’ funding while
allowing guaranteed representation to all, as well as a separation
in power between distinct executive and legislative
branches.”
Ajami wants to ensure student participation in the possible
change to a senate government.
“It’s not going to be done in a vacuum,” he
said.
Austin wishes to focus on several issues from the Student
Empowerment! slate, such as increasing the amount of money on meal
coupons. She also hopes to hold general body USAC meetings.
According to Student Empowerment! pamphlets, their primary goal
is to “redefine education” by engaging students in USAC
decisions. The themes for their slate are alternative education,
collective action and advocacy.
Ajami’s primary goals include working with the appointed
finance commission chair to host bi-quarterly workshops on how to
apply for group funding. He also wants to hold student group mixers
and maintain a quarterly USAC newsletter.
“I think my goal as IVP is to make sure students and
student groups are represented well and have a say,” Ajami
said.
If elected, Austin plans to maintain positive relations between
USAC and student groups, including holding student organization
resource fairs. She also plans to address housing and parking
issues, such as increasing the parking meter rate, which currently
gives seven-and-a-half minutes for every quarter.
“I would really be working to ensure USAC is addressing
student needs,” Austin said.
She also wants the council to be more accessible to students and
plans to maintain a USAC newsletter.
Ajami also said he is interested in hosting forums on
controversial issues affecting students. Topics may include
diversity, affirmative action and racial representation on
campus.
Austin plans to address on- and off-campus housing issues. She
is working with Enciso to plan a tenants’ rights forum for
the eighth or ninth week of the quarter.
Both Ajami and Austin said the IVP must maintain good
relationships with the president and other USAC members.
“The IVP should keep the president updated on all student
groups,” Ajami said. “If council members have problems
with the president, I also feel it’s the IVP’s job to
mediate meetings outside of USAC.”
Austin also said the IVP and president should work closely
together.
“Both offices are very close to student life and should be
most accessible (to students),” she said.