Corruption tarnishes student government

Thursday, January 9, 1997

LEADERSHIP:

USAC’s good side clouded by misuse of mandatory feeBy Ben
Hofilena

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that there’s something
terribly corrupt about our current student government. It baffles
me that a council of 13 students can overturn a unanimous decision
by the judicial board ­ the only politically independent body
of our students’ association ­ only to advance their own
political agenda. There’s something inherently wrong with the
guiding documents of an association which allows this kind of
political maneuvering to occur.

But kudos to our student government council members. I must say,
that the Students First slate has mastered the political game. It
makes perfect political sense ­ use mandatory fees that we as
undergraduates all pay to the association ($54 a year) to advance
political careers. It’s simple. Being part of a council completely
dominated by fellow slate members, one can easily plaster USAC
newspaper advertisements that all of us pay for with "Students
First" logos and no one would say that this was wrong or
manipulative.

One can have an entire publication called ACCESS with pictures
of all our own political, bureaucratic, stipend-receiving council
members on it (complete with Students First ideology and campaign
rhetoric on every other page) under the guise that this publication
merely informs students about student government. Political
masterminds, I tell you!

Enough of the sarcasm. You see, this is not an issue of
political ideology. I know of several students, including myself,
who are not particularly fond of "Students First" and believe in
social justice, lower registration fees and increased financial aid
… I mean, who doesn’t believe in these things?!?

The corruptness occurs when you have a student government that
has a blatant disregard for laws that protect the money that we all
pay from being spent in inappropriate ways. This make sense, right?
Why should a council spend mandatory fees for political themes and
campaigns that clearly go against one’s ideology? That simply
wouldn’t be fair or right. The corruptness occurs when you have a
council that uses mandatory fees to advertise their political slate
all year long ­ and then to deny that Students First is
actually a slate but rather a philosophy and ideology.

A part of me wants to propose a referendum that would say that
students no longer had to pay $18 a quarter to support student
government. I know that every one of us could find a good use for
this money.

But as someone who spent two years of his life in Kerckhoff
Hall, and as a former candidate, I know that there is also too much
good that comes out of student government despite the current
corruption. The good comes from the programming of the various
commissions ­ particularly community service and campus
events. There is good in the programs that the Campus Retention
Committee sponsors. Yes, there is some good in student government,
but how do we go about changing what is bad?

It is unfortunate that our student government believes that it
only advocates for certain groups and doesn’t have to attempt to
represent all undergraduate Bruins. It is unfortunate that we have
a political slate that has to use the race card to win elections
­ it’s easier to slander candidates and accuse them of being
"white washed" or "sell outs" or "damn greeks." It’s easier to
accentuate our differences than to actually tackle the issues that
are relevant to us all. It’s easier to be the political police for
everyone than to work on issues that affect us as Bruins everyday
on this campus. It’s easier to involve only those who are "down
with the cause" in our student government offices than to invite
all students to work on issues that they care about. It’s easier to
blame the greek system for all the wrongs in society than to let
people find their own truth about going greek. Yes, it is easier to
do this to a system than to work together to address, and possibly
solve, our differences to make progress.

Having shared my thoughts, I’m left with nothing but a feeling
of deep frustration. What can the average Bruin do? Our political
elections on this campus are a joke! It’s ridiculous that people
have only two weeks to sell their message. It’s ridiculous how
thousands of dollars can be poured into campaigns to merely find
candidates arguing solely on race and ethnicity with a complete
disregard for real issues.

The fact of the matter is that the average Joe or Josephine
Bruin does not care! But, even if you don’t care, I hope that I’ve
stimulated some thought. WHICH STUDENTS FIRST?