JONATHAN YOUNG/Daily Bruin Earlier this quarter, a banner hung
outside the cultural affairs office calling to "End the Occupation"
while many gathered nearby to hear speeches about the Mideast.
By Robert Salonga
DAILY BRUIN STAFF
[email protected]
One of the boldest lines dividing the two slates in this
year’s Undergraduate Students Association Council elections
extends beyond campus issues: it’s purely political.
For the seven hotly contested races between Student Empowerment!
and Students United for Reform and Equality slate members, the most
clear-cut disagreement involves the political role of student
government.
Student Empowerment! holds the consensus that USAC has the
responsibility to take stances on political issues ranging from the
University of California’s divestment from Burma to the
Middle East crisis.
“It’s one of the most important roles of council to
take political stances. It’s one of the rights guaranteed to
student government,” said Bryant Tan, presidential candidate
and current academic affairs commissioner.
SURE, on the other hand, aligns itself with political
non-involvement ““ except for slate head and presidential
candidate David Dahle.
He said the council can take political stances when both sides
of an issue have been “thoroughly discussed.”
“We should take stances on issues … germinated through
council for a while,” said Dahle, a current general
representative.
But many of his fellow SURE members would rather err on the side
of not involving themselves in worldly politics unless there is a
pressing need for such action.
“Political stances should remain on issues directly
affecting the university,” said Justin Levi, president of the
Jewish Student Union and internal vice president candidate.
If elected, Levi plans to push a proposal through council that
would ban USAC from taking official stances on issues with what he
considers no assessable UCLA impact, specifically citing the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict as an example.
Controversy recently hit USAC when, during an April 11 speak-out
addressing the conflict, the cultural affairs office allowed the
hanging of a banner that read “End the Occupation” from
its window.
The move was greenlighted by cultural affairs chief of staff
Luke Patterson, an independent candidate for the cultural affairs
commission. He wants to politicize the commission, citing that it
has “ignored politics on- and off-campus.”
“The Middle East conflict is affecting everyone,”
Patterson said.
Meyerhoff Park and its surrounding windows is a programming
space open for this expression, said Student Empowerment! candidate
Robbie Clark, program coordinator for the African Student Union and
Patterson’s opponent for the CAC.
“If the issue isn’t brought to the (council) table,
then political stance shouldn’t matter,” Clark
said.
She pointed out that no controversy came of hanging an Israeli
flag from the same office window.
“People are quick to jump to conclusions,” Clark
said. When asked if she would support a banner reading “End
suicide bombing,” she said she would “have to think
about it.”
But such an action could be clearly construed as a firm stance
in a volatile issue on campus, said SURE candidate for academic
affairs, Dria Fearn.
“It was completely inappropriate,” she said.
“It almost implies that USAC supports only one
side.”
Internal vice president longshot and independent candidate
Avneet Kaur said USAC politics only alienates students.
“We shouldn’t get involved in the political aspect.
It only creates more unrest,” Kaur said.
Stances are not the only political activities at issue for many
of the candidates. Several council hopefuls also belong to student
groups that vie for much fought-over USAC funding.
The general consensus among these candidates is that if elected,
they would minimize their involvement in these groups to supporting
roles.
The On-Campus Housing Council accounts for three SURE
candidates, but the council does not apply for funding from USAC.
Additionally, Dahle recently cut his ties with the Vietnamese
Student Union.
“It wasn’t for me to be in a group that was part of
a coalition that was so exclusive,” he said, referring to
VSUs alignment to Student Empowerment!
Levi said regardless of the election outcome, he will continue
to be involved in JSU.
General representative candidate and MEChA member Allende
Palma-Saracho said he will continue to “actively”
participate in the group if elected, saying it serves as his
identity and support group.
“When I go to MEChA, I’m empowering myself to
represent issues of UCLA community,” Palma-Saracho said.