Runoffs are a great tradition in the Undergraduate Students
Association Council election, and this year is no exception. Five
offices are still up in the air, and they will be determined by
elections that start Tuesday and end Thursday.
A summary of the Daily Bruin Editorial Board’s
endorsements for those still in the running:
President: Marwa Kaisey (Bruins United)
Marwa Kaisey of Bruins United did not earn this board’s
endorsement when she ran for (and won) the office of general
representative last year, largely because this board found her to
be politically naive and her goals to be lackluster. This year,
however, Kaisey has pulled a complete 180.
Kaisey came into the campaign for president with a
well-articulated nine-point plan. The range of her goals is
impressive. They include hammering out a compact with the new
chancellor to ensure student-administration cooperation; creating a
neighborhood council to give students’ a larger voice in
Westwood going-on; improving Welcome Week; and bringing
students’ mental health issues to the forefront.
This board has no doubt that Kaisey has the energy and
enthusiasm to follow through on all her goals, and that UCLA
students will be all the better for it. Moreover, out of all the
presidential candidates, Kaisey seemed most ready to work with
students from other slates.
Kaisey’s opponent, Lucero Chavez of Students First!,
focuses two of the four issues in her platform on increasing
minority enrollment at UCLA. But next year’s council will
have a fully capable external vice president, Tina Park of Students
First!, who can concentrate on remedying poor enrollment of
underrepresented groups. It will be up to the president to unify
the student body as well as what will likely be a divided council.
Kaisey is the woman for the job.
Internal vice president: Gregory Cendana (Students
First!)
Gregory Cendana did not receive this board’s wholehearted
endorsement for the office of internal vice president, but he is
the better candidate. The feasibility of two of his main goals
““ creating a coalition for students who work on campus and an
ASUCLA student discount program ““ is questionable.
But they’re good ideas that show Cendana wants to create
new programs that would benefit all students at UCLA, not just
certain constituencies. And his third major goal ““ to create
quarterly student group recruitment fairs on the Hill ““ is
definitely executable.
Cendana’s opponent in the runoff, Stacy Chang of Bruins
United, has experience with different facets of campus, but this
board had less faith in her ideas. Cendana’s goals at least
have the sweep appropriate to the office of IVP.
General representatives:
Samer Araabi (Students First!)
Joline Price (Bruins United)
Carlos Saucedo (Students First!)
The three candidates who came out ahead in last Thursday’s
election are clearly the best choice for next year’s general
representative office. These three make an attractive team: They
have a wide range of tangible goals and the diverse experience
inside and outside the council that is necessary to see those plans
through.
Araabi wants to make more UCLA Live tickets available to
students and institute a nondenominational prayer room.
Price plans on making the USAC student-group funding process
easier and more transparent. She also promises to make the campus
more aware of mental health issues.
And Saucedo is aware and active in the lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender community and plans to expand programming related
to the LGBT experience.
With such different backgrounds, voters can be assured that
these three candidates can meet the needs of a wide range of
students.
Facilities commissioner: P.C. Zai (Bruins
United)
Zai has everything we could ask for ““ and more ““ out
of a candidate running for the Facilities Commission.
She knows the issues and plans to work toward a more
student-friendly Westwood, increase student safety both on and off
campus, and bring socially conscious products to the UCLA stores.
But Zai knows plans alone are not enough. As one of this
year’s general representatives, she has made the right
connections for the job.
Independent candidate Dorothy Le is ambitious, but her plan to
make UCLA more environmentally friendly is not specific enough and
does not seem feasible in her relatively short term.
Academic affairs commissioner: Nat Schuster (Bruins
United)
Issues surrounding academic policy are not ones someone can just
pick up in a short period of time.
Schuster, who has already worked in the commission and with the
Academic Senate, is receiving our endorsement because he has the
right experience and the correct vision for the office.
He has the right mixture of short- and long-term goals and
clearly understands the steps each require him to take.
Regardless of her small lead in the first round of elections,
Brenda Robles of Students First! simply does not match up.