Candidates running for the Undergraduate Students Association
Council began distributing campaign material Tuesday. An analysis
of campaign fliers revealed some assertions that warrant
clarification.
Equal Access Coalition slate flier:
Description: An 8.5 by 5.5-inch glossed, colored
index card that features head shots of the eight candidates running
under the slate, with presidential candidate Josh Lawson in front.
The flier urges students to “Vote the quotes,” as all
Equal Access candidate names will appear in quotes on the ballot.
The back of the card outlines Lawson’s experience, platform
and endorsements. Analysis: Under Lawson’s
experience, the flier states that Lawson “led the fight to
bring USAC into compliance with federal and UC policies on
equitable funding for all registered groups.” Though it is
true that Lawson has pushed for council to change its bylaws to
fund all student groups throughout the year, a change was not made
until the university administration stepped in. Furthermore, the
administration’s intervention did not prompt USAC to change
its own bylaws. Instead, it was the Center for Student Programming
that changed its guidelines to allow independent groups the
opportunity to apply to be officially recognized groups and be
eligible for USAC funding. The campaign material also states that
Lawson gathered 2,500 signatures in support of the Voting Rights
Initiative that was ignored by Students First! executives. The
flier does not clarify that the reason the initiative did not make
the ballot was because Lawson petitioned for his proposal as an
initiative, when it was actually a constitutional amendment that
required 3,500 signatures to make it onto the ballot.
Students First! slate flier:
Description: An 8.5 by 11-inch paper flier that is
distributed either in red or orange. On one side the flier outlines
10 ways the slate has put “students first.” The other
side of the flier provides black and white head shots of all the
candidates and a quick profile of each candidate, headed by
presidential candidate Allende Palma/Saracho.
Analysis: Some of the accomplishments for which
the slate takes credit are exaggerated. The flier suggests that the
slate is responsible for the implementation of the diversity
requirement in fall 2005. But this implementation is not definite.
The Academic Senate has made a commitment to implement the
requirement, but the process is in its initial stages. The campaign
form also states that this year, the most student groups were
funded in the history of USAC. This accomplishment is not
surprising since funding to officially recognized student groups
was only opened up in 2001. Naturally, the amount of groups funded
in 2002 was the largest in USAC’s history as the pool of
eligible groups expanded from a little over 20 to well over 500.
And as more groups are becoming familiar with the funding process,
it is not surprising that there were even more groups funded this
year. Under “student advocacy,” the flier states that
the slate negotiated with administration to extend funding to all
independent groups. It is misleading for Students First! to take
credit for the funding change when they had been reluctant to make
these changes while the debate had been circling the council table
for the last two years. Students First! officers said they were
waiting for the University of California Office of the President to
release drafts of its own guidelines. Though the guidelines called
for all registered groups to be funded, Students First! officers
did not budge on their stance until administration stepped in.
Traditionally, the slate has been opposed to opening funding to
more groups. Most groups that are in the Students First! support
base already receive funding, and opening funding could result in
less money being available for these groups. It seems that after
the administration stepped in, a change was forced to be made.
A flier for presidential candidate Arash Mozayan
Isfahani: Description: A small, blue
flier outlining goals for the candidate. Analysis:
The flier calls students to vote for Mozayan Isfahani to form a
“united front against tuition hikes.” In-state
undergraduate students do not pay tuition, they pay student
fees.
Compiled by Menaka Fernando, Bruin senior staff. Other
campaign material distributed Tuesday did not contain any
assertions that warranted clarification.