In the only truly legitimate “Matrix” flick,
Morpheus gave us a choice. We could take the blue pill, which
allowed us to bide our time, oblivious to the struggle around us.
Or we could take that pesky red pill: the chance to see through the
facade, the opportunity to open our eyes to the truth, an
irritating reminder that there is more than what meets the eye. I
am still not totally sure how, but as a 17-year-old newcomer to
UCLA, someone must have slipped me the red pill.
I can still picture that bubbly campus tour guide ““
“This is Kerckhoff Hall, home to our student government …
called USAC … Student Media … like the Daily Bruin … and a
bunch of student groups.” If only it were that simple. She
didn’t tell me about the “Kerckhoffites” who eat
and sleep in that building. She didn’t tell me about the
organized fights we call USAC meetings.
Come to think of it, I’m not completely sure she knew what
USAC stood for. So I’ll tell you just a bit about what you
didn’t get at Orientation. For starters, USAC stands for
Undergraduate Students Association Council.
Student leadership on this campus is ruled by gatekeepers
““ individuals who have risen to a place of usually unseen
authority, controlling who is allowed in and who is kept out of
influential areas of campus. Usually when this hits people, they
visualize Godfather-like characters in high-backed chairs and a
dimly lit room.
But most of the time, they are the students that sit in the row
behind you in class, or were on your floor your first year. The
view that student leadership is a cultish sect of no-life
individuals has been the very tool used to disempower so many of
you who might have been some of UCLA’s great student
leaders.
The more the average student writes off USAC as a clique of
powerful special interests, the more it becomes just that. Take it
from one who has been the object of its wrath: The machine does
exist.
But it survives only by the tacit consent of all the students
who do not believe they have to power to change it. I understand
the reasons most of us feel USAC doesn’t matter, but I refuse
to accept apathy, because it is and has been a tool to keep us from
having truly representative leaders. Far too many elections have
been decided by under 40 swing voters in the past few years. My
hope is that you will call the system’s bluff.
Currently there is a senate proposal that would empower the
voices of all students regardless of their insider connections. The
power of the senate reform is obvious only when you see the
desperate measures some USAC officers have taken to oppose it. On
Monday, USAC spent $948 of your student fees to publish its
opposition to this grassroots student movement.
Still, nine council members cannot silence the 4,000 students
who have signed the petition and want a vote on the issue.
Throughout the next quarter, you will see all-too-familiar
political maneuvering and manipulation like this. But it is
important to remember those attempts are only a desperate effort by
an outdated system.
Since my first year at UCLA, I have been involved in attempting
quite a few fundamental reforms. I am proud to honestly say that
our reforms made a difference.
From working as then-president David Dahle’s chief of
staff, a USAC general representative and finally as a presidential
candidate, I know we altered the game forever. After three Judicial
Board cases, over 100 Daily Bruin articles, two elections and
countless hours of work by so many friends and staff members, we
brought USAC’s biased funding practices to light and prompted
a University of California investigation that forced the issue of
equal access.
All of these changes came at a tremendous price. In my case,
only my deep friends, family and faith allowed me to meet the
challenges that taking on the machine demanded. But let me tell you
that exposing back-room darkness is worth every bit of the
price.
The close of this quarter will be the end of my experience as a
UCLA student. Being called the “Neo guy” on Bruin Walk
made it fun; being called a host of other things by opponents made
me strong. I have come to love this campus and all of you who have
made my past few years so fulfilling and memorable.
All of us woke the campus up to believe something in the past
few years: Reform and equality are more powerful than the forces of
exclusivity and special interests. Now it’s time for the next
generation of leaders to prove this is the case. I’ll be
rooting for you.
Lawson is a fifth-year political science student.