USAC candidates to meet with students face to face on the Hill

All 23 candidates in next week’s undergraduate student government elections will gather on the Hill tonight to meet with students for the second annual “Meet the Candidates” event.

The Undergraduate Students Association Council Election Board and the On-Campus Housing Council are putting on the event to give students an opportunity to talk with the USAC candidates, ask questions and learn more about the elections process in an informal setting, said Dana Pede, USAC Election Board chair.

The USAC Election Board is holding the event on the Hill to make it more accessible to students, especially those who live on campus, Pede said.

“(Hill residents are) normally the younger students at UCLA who have less exposure to USAC,” she added. “They haven’t made up their minds yet about the candidates.”

Laura Steindorf, a first-year physiological science student, said she plans to stop by the event because she thinks it’s important to know more about the candidates and meet them in person instead of learning about their platforms online. Since Steindorf lives in Rieber Hall, she said the event will be easy for her to attend.

“Meeting (the candidates) one-on-one tells you more about who they are,” she said.

Some students who live off campus said they will be less inclined to attend the event, though they still think it is a helpful opportunity.

Matthew Sweeney, a third-year biology student, said he might not attend because he lives off campus and has to study for midterms, but he thinks the event will help publicize the elections and allow students to learn more about the potential officers’ specific goals.

Sweeney added that he thinks the event would be beneficial because pictures on Facebook often show what slate a candidate belongs to, but do not always provide information about an individual candidate’s campaign promises.

The event is planned for 7-9 p.m. in the Rieber Fireside Lounge.