It is my intention to struggle for the rights of all the
students of UCLA, as previous governments have failed to do. I am
opposed to the voluntary increase in student fees that has been
proposed by some candidates because the issue is actually the fair
distribution of Undergraduate Students Association Council’s
funds. In order to instill more equality to our council, I will
open funding to all student groups, thus putting an end to
discrimination.
Regarding budget cuts, as undergraduates are not the only ones
facing them, I will work with Graduate Student Association
President Jared Fox, who has joined my campaign, in order to unite
the whole student body in our struggle. Fox shares my vision to
join forces with the other University of California and California
State University campuses to provide a united front against these
budget cuts to the governor and the Legislature.
Throughout the past, different groups have won elections on the
same issues that we are facing today, but have not fulfilled their
campaign promises. Instead of working to solve these problems, the
groups have wasted valuable time with political maneuvering ““
and by altering the system in an attempt to ensure their
re-election despite their failures. The more the plans fail, the
more the planners plan to get re-elected.
It is time for a change. We need a strong and independent leader
who will do what is right for the entire university and is not
beholden to the interests of one special group. We need a president
who will do what is right for all of the students all of the time
and not be influenced by political affiliations that would hinder
his duties as an officer. In the present crisis, the student
council is not the solution to our problem; the student council is
the problem.
This is the issue of this election: whether we believe in our
capacity for self-government or whether we believe a small group in
a forgotten office ““ who has a political agenda that goes
against our ideas of democracy ““ can fairly address the
issues that concern the entire student body.
Isfahani is a USAC presidential candidate.