Students First! places students last

Wednesday, February 4, 1998

Students First! places students last

USAC: Code violations mar student government accountability,
authority

By Dan Ruppel

The recent allegations against our student government come as no
surprise to those of us who have observed the unethical behavior of
Students First! over the last several years. The new charges of
Election Code violations are completely consistent with their
"modus operandi," as Students First! once again demonstrates a
blatant disregard for decency and accountability in student
government.

Unfortunately, as long as they are in charge of their own
oversight, they will continue to use their power to circumvent the
rules for the sake of their own narrow, political interests.

The latest controversy centers around last year’s student
government election, and the charges that the current Students
First! officers filed false expense reports and used the offices of
the president and external vice president to make campaign phone
calls on the eve of the election.

Despite clear evidence of violations, USAC has stonewalled and
refused to answer any of these questions. Their hollow denials do
not address the very serious issues brought up by these charges.
These allegations cut right to the heart of Students First!
corruption. It’s graft in the purest form: using one’s official
political position to gain personal advantage.

This has been the game plan of Students First! for years. They
have become the corrupt and unethical institution that they
purported to fight against when they were elected.

We have to take responsibility as the electorate for letting
this pattern of abuse continue as long as it has. We should have
seen the signs over a year ago when Students First! was embroiled
in yet another conflict.

It was then that USAC voted to overrule the Judicial Board
decision that would have stopped them from using the "Students
First!" name and logo on official USAC documents. It is such a
simple matter of a conflict of interest that it should not be an
issue. It fits the pattern of using our fees to continue their own
campaign to keep their band of cronies in power.

Furthermore, the USAC advertisement in last year’s election week
Daily Bruin was nothing more than a Students First! campaign flyer
converted into an expensive "official" full-page announcement about
the "accomplishments" of USAC.

Lest you think these were just the acts of a prior
administration, I would point to a clear example from just this
year. I was appalled when I saw the application to USAC’s
much-touted book-lending program. Right across the top of the form,
in bold lettering, is the striking title: "STUDENTS FIRST! BOOK
LENDING PROGRAM." Then, below that, "brought to you by USAC, your
student government." As if that weren’t enough, a paragraph on the
application states, "UCLA’s student government is trying to put
STUDENTS FIRST! again this year. … Only working together do
students have power."

This example should give every student pause. Students First! is
not our student government. They are a political party that should
have no business with official student government actions. Students
First! will never stop campaigning as long as they have absolute
power and control of our student fees. Every decision they make
takes into account their own political power and their desire to
have a bloodless succession for years to come. They want to pass
the scepter along to the next generation of leftist activists
without taking into account the fundamental lack of fairness in
their every action.

There is also little hope for accountability until the next
election cycle.

Members of the current USAC have criticized recently resigned
chairman of the Finance Committee Robert Rhoan, going on the attack
about his job performance. These charges come from the same USAC
leaders who have disregarded their constitutional duty to appoint
an Election Board. USAC should have formed an Election Board before
fall quarter, but they have been sitting on their hands. Why would
they fail to perform this basic function? What happened to the
candidates who submitted applications through the Daily Bruin last
spring for Election Board positions? Does USAC fear appointing any
kind of oversight committee, even though they could surely stack it
with friendly cronies from various Student Advocacy Groups? Without
an Election Board, the election process is on hold.

Anyone wishing to mount a recall, initiative or referendum
effort has nowhere to turn. The recent allegations against members
of Students First! would be taken up by an Election Board, if there
were one. Where is USAC’s accountability for their dereliction of
duty? How does USAC answer these latest charges about election
violations? How do they explain the use of university property for
campaigning? How do they reconcile their expense accounts with the
word of the printer who disputes the information that candidates
provided? These charges cannot be ignored. We cannot allow USAC to
use its absolute power to circumvent justice.

Unfortunately, USAC makes its own rules. Fairness and
accountability would only get in the way of the "righteous
struggle" that Students First! thinks it is on. For all their
rhetoric about "putting people first," they have become a power-mad
oligarchy that uses the hand of government to crush all opposition.
The ends justify the means in the minds of Students First! They are
the establishment now, striving to keep power for themselves by any
means necessary. Until they are finally defeated, or a
constitutional amendment limits their power to use mandatory
student fees, their abuse will continue. Impartiality is a joke in
the entire process. Something is wrong with the system when a party
can seize power and use it to violate every tenet of fair
government. It may be necessary for the administration to step in
if the average student has any hope of fair government. As long as
Students First! controls the impeachment, recall and election
procedures, there can be no hope of justice in the face of
corruption.

It’s time that we demand Accountability First!