The first round of Undergraduate Students Association Council
elections may be over, but the second round, starting tomorrow,
will be nearly as important ““ six positions out of 13 remain
undecided. Here is a summary of the Daily Bruin’s
endorsements for the remaining positions:
Academic Affairs Commissioner, Sophia Kozak:
Kozak is a current AAC staff member who has the experience and
knowledge to lead the commission next year. She worked closely with
the Academic Senate this year, trying to finalize the details of
the upcoming education diversity requirement. Kozak advocates for
“relevant education,” calling for student-run classes,
more departmental senates and the departmentalization of ethnic
studies centers. Her opponent, Christine Sol, while sharing some of
Kozack’s goals, has a significantly poor conception of how
they should be pursued. She sorely lacks the experience needed to
run the commission ““ she included in her resume that she
worked for the AAC this year, when she did not. She later admitted
the resume was not accurate.
Cultural Affairs Commissioner, Kelly Wynn: Wynn
is the current chief of staff in the CAC office and will use her
knowledge to expand the impact and reach of the commission. She has
a large number of ideas for new programming, keeping with the
philosophy that entertainment can also be culturally educational.
Her opponent, Marcello Robinson, offers little beyond vague
promises to make the CAC more open and appealing to all students
““ exactly what Wynn has actually figured out how to do.
Facilities Commissioner, Tutram Nguyen: Nguyen
has specific facilities-related goals. She hopes to expand BruinGo!
routes, by having the administration reevaluate the cost
effectiveness of the campus shuttle. Nguyen will also work to
subsidize the use of campus facilities for cultural nights and
other events ““ a plan that could significantly benefit
student groups, who now get their budgets gouged by high rent fees.
Also, while formulating a plan for more on-campus study space, she
spoke to the student union director and impressively evaluated
different locations for feasibility. Her opponent, Albert Farias,
has experience working in this year’s facilities commission,
but had few valuable goals and does not possess the conviction
necessary to fight aggressively for students on facility
matters.
General Representative, Jenny Galvez, Joshua Leo Lawson
and Amy Lucas: Galvez stands out from other general
representative candidates with her plans to advocate for the
protection of student health care coverage. She wants to make sure
UCLA continues to provide low-cost, high quality care and free
services such as HIV testing. Lawson is a well-spoken candidate
with a history of student activism. Previously, he served as
president of El Camino College’s 26,000 undergraduates and
was involved in the organization of a large-scale student protest.
At UCLA, he served as deputy chief of staff in the office of the
current USAC president. He plans to create Fiat Lux-type classes on
student government and hold quarterly Town Hall meetings for the
student body. Lucas is an enthusiastic candidate who served on the
On Campus Housing Council. She wants to focus on two primary
projects, a “UCLA Guide to Life,” and a programming
awards ceremony for student groups, hoping these projects will
bring students closer to USAC. Nelson Saldaña and Linda Lam
have original platforms ““ Saldaña calling for
student government to set up student art shows and Lam hoping to
address women’s issues and student privacy. Other than art,
though, Saldaña offered little except unspecific plans to
address diversity and Lam did not have solid enough plans to
warrant students’ votes. Gerardo Ornelas, meanwhile, wants
USAC to take part in UCLA’s homecoming festivities, a
production which the Student Alumni Association already does well.
His other goals are common ““ fighting student fee increases
and protecting BruinGo!, for example ““Â and he does not
give the impression he is the right man for those jobs.