Adam Harmetz
By nature, the duties of the general representative are broad
and somewhat ambiguous. Representatives are asked to stand for the
concerns of the entire undergraduate population ““ a daunting
task that may sometimes seem impossible. Because of this, a good
candidate has to be able to define large campus issues that affect
students of all types ““ and create a specific and detailed
plan for progress.
Among this year’s general representative candidates, Adam
Harmetz, Michelle Styczynski, and Allende Palma-Saracho were the
only three who displayed a working knowledge of large-scale campus
issues and offered concrete solutions.
All three candidates cited housing, transportation,
overcrowding, diversity and community relations as pressing issues.
But each candidate also offered a detailed plan for the certain
issue they hope to focus on.
 Michelle Stczynski
Harmetz, who is currently the chair of the On Campus Housing
Council, outlined a plan to combat overcrowding. He says he will
spend fall quarter forming a report based on research he and his
staff will put together on the capacity of campus hot spots like
housing, classrooms, and other communal spaces. Harmetz anticipates
that this research will ultimately show the need for enrollment
caps, and after he completes his work he will take it to the
administration with his recommendations.
Styczynski, who has also worked on the hill as a resident
adviser and member of OCHC, discussed improving community relations
with Westwood homeowners to bring live and other sorts of
entertainment back to the Village. She’s already met with
several community leaders to discuss Westwood’s future and plans to
send student representatives to Homeowners Association
meetings.
 Allende Palma-Saracho
Palma-Saracho discussed both BruinGo! and campus diversity as
his top priorities. He also wants to start a “know your
rights” campaign to inform students of their rights as
renters, employees, in cases of sexual harassment and for Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual and Transgender students. In addition to this, he
will establish a workers’ appreciation day for employees in
campus service jobs to honor their hard work in maintaining campus
facilities.
By contrast, general representative candidates Jenny Lam and
Maggy Athanasious showed little insight regarding major student
issues like housing, transportation and overcrowding. Lam cited
hate crimes ““ of which she admitted only five cases have been
reported since 1999 ““ and improved childcare services as the
two most important issues the university currently faces. Both
these issues are relevant and valuable to campus, but as someone
running for “general” representative, Lam has focused
too narrowly.
Athanasious said she had no plans for change on any of the major
issues and would instead wait for a student survey to tell her what
is important. Aside from the fact that it’s glaringly obvious
what the issues are ““ housing, transportation and access to
education ““ Athanasious’ only goals were to initiate an
Associated Students of UCLA sponsored meal plan for off-campus
students and increase the visibility of USAC. Like Lam’s
goals, these also have value, but the former certainly
doesn’t take precedence over an issue like housing, and the
latter only helps students in a limited way. Knowing about USAC
doesn’t mean its doing anything for them.
The best bet for a solid general representative package is a
combination of Harmetz, Styczynski and Palma-Saracho. With
Harmetz’s focus on overcrowding, Styczynski’s work with
the Homeowners Association, and Palma-Saracho’s commitment to
diversity and student rights, the campus should have its needs
covered.