Undergraduate elections see rise of slate-based campaigns

By Melody Wang

Daily Bruin Contributor

The battle to gain control of the 13 seats on the Undergraduate
Students Association Council has continuously been fought by
various slates.

But while other slates come and go, one has maintained its
existence over the past few years.

Praxis and its predecessor, Students First!, has held the
majority of USAC seats since 1995, the same year students began
formally organizing slates. Before 1995, students and student
groups campaigned together, but usually not under slate names.

That year, student advocacy groups Samahang Pilipino, MEChA, the
Asian Pacific Coalition and the African Student Union formed
Students First! Three years later one of Students First!’s
founding groups, MEChA, left the slate, which then became known as
Praxis.

Former USAC President Mike de la Rocha said members felt the
need to refocus their ideas. They changed the slate name to Praxis,
which means “reflection and action” according to Paulo
Freire’s book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

De la Rocha said Praxis has been successful because unlike other
slates, it was not created with the sole intention of winning an
election.

“You have to be in it for the long haul,” de la
Rocha said. “There’s never been a slate as consistent
as Praxis. That speaks worlds about the work we do.”

But members of other slates that have formed over the years said
Praxis does not address their concerns and many do not like
Praxis’ political tactics.

“As long as Praxis exists, other slates will be
necessary,” said Noah Bookman, a member of Viable Alternative
who withdrew from the race for general representative this
year.

Bill Elliott, who helped form the Viable Alternative slate, said
Praxis has existed longer than its opposing slates because its
members know how to deal with issues like diversity.

“(Viable Alternative) is definitely for affirmative
action, but we didn’t have experience to deal with it,”
Elliott said. “You can’t run on student services alone.
There are other issues that can’t be ignored.”

Bookman said Praxis has a strong ability to organize different
student groups.

“It is multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-gendered,”
Bookman said. “That’s its success.”

But he said while Praxis deals with some issues well, it should
also address more day-to-day issues such as parking and library
hours.

Bookman added that though the ideal situation would be not to
have slates at all, they are often necessary.

“The structure of the system is if you’re not
running on a slate, it’s hard to get your name out,”
Bookman said.

Mark Beck-Heyman, who ran for internal vice president last year
on the Nexus slate, said slates make it easier for voters to
understand the different candidates’ platforms.

Though students spend time creating slates, they are not
officially recognized by the elections board, according to its
code.

“I have mixed feelings about this problem,” said
E-Board Advisor Michael Cohn.

By not recognizing slates, the E-Board encourages students to
campaign individually so they are not just elected based on a
slate, Cohn said. On the other hand, by not recognizing slates, the
E-Board cannot control any of the chalking or campaigning done by
members of the slates, he added.

“There are positives and negatives to slates,” Cohn
said, explaining that slates allow students to unite in a common
goal but adding that slates also run inexperienced candidates at
times.

USAC Facilities Commissioner Steve Davey said though the E-Board
does not recognize slates, they make it easier for voters to decide
who to vote for.

“There have always been political parties in America and
there are always going to be slates no matter what the E-Board
does,” he said.

Nexus was created in 1999 to provide an alternative to Praxis.
Beck-Heyman said Nexus, which means link, was designed to
“link” students to USAC.

“We wanted to focus on student-based issues,”
Beck-Heyman said. “Affirmative action is an important issue,
but it’s not really solvable by the student
government.”

Beck-Heyman added that while many students thought Nexus was a
Greek slate, it was also supported by the On-Campus Housing Council
and Jewish Student Union.

The same year Nexus was formed, members of the Asian Pacific
Coalition broke away from Praxis and formed Mobilize 2000, a slate
that only lasted a year.

Other slates similar to Nexus and M2K have also existed, but
usually for just a year.

For instance, Access Coalition, formed in 1997, was similar to
Nexus in its goals and supporters, except it placed less emphasis
on encouraging Greek members to vote, Beck-Heyman said.

“They were successful in terms of getting the campus aware
of their issues,” Beck-Heyman said.

In addition to Access Coalition, Bruin Vision, which was formed
in 1996, Liberty ’97 and Unity ’97 also ran candidates
in the 1997 election.

Liberty ’97 and Bruin Vision were formed by students
unhappy with Students First!, said Telly Tse, who ran for
facilities commissioner on the Access Coalition slate that year.
Members of these two slates felt Students First! was exclusive and
that they allocated funding only for certain student advocacy
groups.

“I would have to say that Liberty ’97 and Bruin
Vision were formed not so much to win, but to have the opportunity
to make their statements,” Tse said.

He added that Liberty ’97 was supported by Bruin
Libertarians, and Bruin Vision was supported by students with more
radical ideas, such as building a pub on campus.

Unity ’97 members wanted to create a student senate in
which more students could be involved, and where some USAC meetings
could be held in the residential halls, Ruben Garcia, Unity
’97’s presidential candidate and only member, told the
Daily Bruin on May 7, 1997.

In 1998 Daniel Rego helped establish the Sanity slate to oppose
Praxis in the elections. Members of Sanity said they wanted to
fairly allocate money to the different student groups.

John Strelow, who was elected general representative on the
Sanity slate, said his slate’s members opposed Praxis’
tactics.

“We didn’t like their protests and how they took
over buildings,” Strelow said.

Strelow was the only member of Sanity to be elected.

“We didn’t have the money nor enough
planning,” Rego said. “To create a slate you need to
plan at least a year in advance.”

Not all students run on slates, but rather some choose to run as
independents instead. Independent candidate Elizabeth Houston won
the USAC presidency this year without the support of a slate.

Davey said he ran as an independent in the last election because
he could not find a slate he felt represented his ideas and
platform.

“An independent candidate can bring a refreshing
scene,” Davey said. “They can represent the students in
the best way they see fit.”