USAC fall 2019 special election: No endorsement for Orion Smedley for general representative
By Editorial Board
Oct. 27, 2019 10:58 p.m.
An intricate knowledge of maintenance issues on the Hill does not a general representative make.
Orion Smedley has the impetus to fix things, but he lacks the basic knowledge of Undergraduate Students Association Council policies and jurisdiction, which is integral to the success of a general representative.
The board does not endorse Smedley because of his narrow focus on small-scale visions and his lack of comprehensive understanding of the position. Smedley’s goals – such as organizing a bus between UCLA and LAX – showed him to be out of touch with student needs, as the lack of student use caused the FlyAway bus to be phased out earlier this year. And while his ideas for easing the move-out process for on-campus students have merit, they don’t fall squarely within the domain of the position he applied for.
That being said, we applaud his previous work within his floor government and feel as though he would be a better fit for a position working for Residential Life.
