The results are in. Next year, the power of the Undergraduate
Students Association Council will be divided between two slates,
Student Power! and Bruins United. This is a rare moment in
USAC’s history, and members of both slates have a
responsibility to establish common goals and cooperative plans.
The new members are qualified and energetic, but none of the
resumes or ideas lauded this week matter if the council spirals
into bitter and selfish bickering. These 13 newly elected
councilmembers have spent weeks promising to represent students.
With such a divided council, they will have to work extremely hard
to fulfill that promise.
This combination of slates will produce an unusual dynamic at
the council table. Wood will wield the power of the
president’s office, but also faces the check and balance of
the seven Bruins United votes and the need to sway three
independents.
Similarly, Bruins United lacks the two-thirds majority needed to
unilaterally make bylaw changes, but is nonetheless in a position
to advance many of its goals.
In a sense, both sides will have to make a decision. If Bruins
United and Student Power! work together, next year could be one of
the most productive years in USAC’s history. The
representation of two slates could yield double the creativity,
double the passion and double the results.
Conversely, the two slates might decide to engage in a
scorched-earth war that deadlocks the council and could prevent
councilmembers from achieving their goals. In either scenario,
there is a lot at stake.
Bruins United has committed itself to reforming USAC. Objectives
range from repealing USAC’s closed-meeting rules to
instituting an entirely new constitution and senate system.
Wood and other members of Student Power! say most of their work
will not revolve around the council table, but will instead focus
on representing students and advocating changes throughout UCLA and
the University of California system.
Both aspirations need to be pursued.
But will these lofty goals be realized, or will the council
devolve into little more than a partisan fight ring?
This has been a tough and bitterly fought election, with both
slates responsible for various campaign violations and
improprieties. As a result, there is a considerable amount of anger
visible on both sides ““ but there is also potential.
Wood has a reputation as one of the most approachable and
collaborative members of the Student Power! slate. And as
president, she will have the power to make appointments, facilitate
meetings and project her personal voice.
It is the hope of this editorial board that both Wood and
members of Bruins United will do the unthinkable and forget their
past battles. In the process of reconciliation, the two groups
should realize the goals they hold are complimentary.
USAC is often an enigma on this campus, but next year its
members will have the potential to usher in a new era of
accountability and bipartisanship, we hope.