It’s the last of elections: Where do you stand?

Wednesday, May 1, 1996

Students First! council has delivered on last year’s campaign
promises

The following viewpoint was submitted on behalf of the
African Student Union, the Asian Pacific Coalition, Movimiento
Estudiantil Chicano y Chicana de Aztlán and Samahang
Pilipino.

Angry. United. On Oct. 12, 1995, 3,000 students marched down
Westwood Boulevard, protesting the UC Regents’ decision to end
affirmative action. Brown, black, yellow, white. Chanting together.
A single voice. Forcing those who oppress us to take note: Together
we are powerful.

Exactly one year ago, we wrote a viewpoint calling for our
communities to unite, to realize our power by voting against
candidates who sought only to build their resumes and wine and dine
with administrators. We decried the elitist Greek bureaucrats who
masqueraded as student government while failing to address pressing
student issues such as rising registration fees, cuts in financial
aid, low graduation rates and ASUCLA accountability.

Exactly one year ago, we called for solidarity in the struggle
for accountable, effective student government representation. That
year, UCLA students stormed the polls in record numbers and
demanded a student government which would fight for relevant and
accessible education. Together, we elected the STUDENTS FIRST!
candidates, not to sit placidly on their rumps in the ivory towers
of Kerckhoff as previous student governments had done, but to leap
into the trenches of true student activism and advocacy on issues
that impact our respective communities and the campus community as
a whole.

And this year, UCLA students have reaped the results. This year,
STUDENTS FIRST! increased the number of textbooks available on
reserve in UCLA libraries and created a campus-wide textbook
lending program serving several hundred UCLA students. STUDENTS
FIRST! cut administrative overhead, thereby increasing funding for
campus programming and student groups. STUDENTS FIRST! steered
ASUCLA onto the road to financial health. STUDENTS FIRST!
implemented the student-run Scholarship Resource Center at no extra
cost to students.

Despite Brad Miller’s April 26 viewpoint ("Council must consider
needs of more than just student advocacy groups"), which claims to
the contrary, STUDENTS FIRST! did not allocate "over 50 percent" of
Undergraduate Student Association Council funds to our four
organizations, which were actually allotted nearly 17.97 percent of
the budget in base budget funding, although together our
organizations represent the majority of UCLA students. This adds up
to approximately $33,000 from a pool of over $188,000. We invite
you to visit the Financial Committee Office located in Kerckhoff
312F. The books do not lie.

In an attempt to discredit STUDENTS FIRST!, groups such as the
Undergraduate Business Society (UBS), who support the Greek slate,
put forth false claims about funding for organizations. The truth
is, groups like UBS, which receive outside sponsorship, never
actually apply for funding.

STUDENTS FIRST! has funded every group that has bothered to
apply for funding this year. No one is being denied funding and in
truth, STUDENTS FIRST!, by cutting administrative overhead and fat
leftover from past Greek-controlled councils, has actually saved
$7,000, providing more funds for programs like the free Textbook
Lending Program.

Greek supporters claim STUDENTS FIRST! has not done adequate
outreach to the "other" organizations about available funding
resources. While outreach can always be improved, STUDENTS FIRST!
has actually spent more money this year advertising in the Daily
Bruin and posting flyers, notifying students and organizations
about the availability of funding resources on campus, than past
councils. Check out the numbers on the books and see for
yourself.

Together, UCLA students have worked with STUDENTS FIRST! and the
UC Students Association to fight registration fee increases, and
have saved each UCLA student $700 per year. Through our collective
efforts protesting and lobbying, we were able to restore $17
billion to federal financial aid programs (Cal Grants, Federal
Work-Study, Stafford Loans and Perkins Loans). Now we are
struggling for a 15 percent rollback on registration fees.

This year, our organizations teamed up with STUDENTS FIRST! to
successfully pressure the UC Regents to delay the elimination of
affirmative action. Together, we are currently creating four new
early outreach programs to address the needs of our respective
communities.

This year we must once again show our collective power by voting
for candidates who will truly represent us and advocate for our
interest on the issues facing UCLA students. We are confident that
this year’s STUDENTS FIRST! team ­ Thais Bass, Richard Pablo
Bis, Dora Cervantes, John Du, Max Espinoza, Michelle Gosom, Glenn
Inanaga, Miho Murai, Alberto Retana and Eric D. Shaw ­ when
elected, will use their vision, experience, integrity, honesty and
dedication to continue the type of student government that puts
UCLA students first.

In the upcoming year, STUDENTS FIRST! will fight to defeat the
California "Civil Wrongs" Initiative by registering students and
communities of color to vote and by organizing students to walk
precincts. STUDENTS FIRST! and our organizations will continue to
struggle for the reinstatement of affirmative action and will
implement the new early outreach programs to serve our communities.
UCLA students and STUDENTS FIRST! will fight for a 15 percent
rollback of registration fees and for direct lending to students.
Through programs such as SOuRCe (Student Outreach Resource Center),
STUDENTS FIRST! seeks to make student government even more
accessible to students.