USAC candidates for transfer rep, Gen Rep 2 debate platforms

With two offices to fill and few set duties for both positions, candidates for the Undergraduate Students Association Council talked about the importance of setting precedence to a thinly dispersed audience Saturday night.

The debate was one of the first in recent years to feature no official slate participation, as all candidates are running as independents. The absence of official slates was visible in the room, which lacked loud cheers and obvious divides. About 70 students attended the debate, hosted by the USAC Election Board. For spring USAC elections, which tend to have more participants and feature multiple slates, more than 400 students typically attend.

While the three candidates for the newly created transfer student representative seat clashed over the importance of prior experience in USAC, the two candidates for General Representative 2 focused more on the feasibility of their platforms.

Board members asked candidates broad questions about how they think their platforms would benefit the student body, their visions for their positions and their general qualifications for office. Of the three measures on the ballot, only representatives for the Bruin Diversity Referendum and the temporary vacancy constitutional amendment decided to take the stage briefly to tell the audience why students should vote for their measures.

With candidates Negeen Sadeghi-Movahed, a fourth-year political science student, and Michelle Balatbat, a fourth-year political science student, holding current positions in USAC, they emphasized the importance of institutional knowledge to getting things done while in office.

On the other hand, third-year political science student Allan Kew, who just started at UCLA a few weeks ago, said he thinks his little USAC experience and lack of affiliations with student groups and slates would benefit the transfer student community, as well as make students feel more comfortable approaching him.

When the General Representative 2 candidates debated, both said they think a poor campus climate is one of the most pervasive problems facing students.

Youmun Alhlou, a fourth-year international development studies student, said that because she thinks her job is to represent all students as best as she can, she wants to help marginalized communities feel more comfortable in USAC and on campus. Sofia Moreno Haq, a fifth-year gender studies student, said she thinks that the number of sexual assaults and incidents of racial profiling are increasing every day at UCLA, so she wants to help improve the way UCPD functions through updated racial sensitivity training.

Compiled by Amanda Schallert, Bruin senior staff.