Bruin empowered

By Karen Matsuoka

For the Daily Bruin

For Rachel Metson, a California delegate to the 2000 Democratic
National Convention and a 2000 UCLA graduate, hobnobbing with the
nation’s top political leaders and being featured on CNN is
business as usual.

“It all began during a ninth-grade trip to Washington
D.C.,” Metson said. “I was in total awe of the grandeur
of history that permeates that city.”

“I decided to get involved in politics, and once I
started, there was no stopping me.” she continued.

Metson has since interned in various state and local offices,
working most recently as a legislative assistant for Los Angeles
city council member Ruth Galanter.

After graduating last spring with a degree in political science,
Metson began working on legislation to rid the environment of
mercury, a toxin that has been linked to birth defects. The motion
passed this summer.

Most recently, however, Metson left her mark as a California
delegate to the DNC, where she was the second-youngest delegate on
the floor.

Metson ran in the 24th congressional district, which was
allocated a total of five district-level seats. Three seats were to
be held by men, and two by women.

In January, caucuses were held in each of California’s 52
congressional districts, where Metson vied with 15 women for those
two seats.

Metson won 121 votes, making her the top-ranking female delegate
in her district and securing herself a spot at the DNC.

During the convention, Metson typically began her day over
breakfast with other delegates, listening to speakers like as
actor/director Rob Reiner and Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.

Metson would then attend a number of informational sessions put
on by special interest groups before heading off to the
convention.

“The California delegation doesn’t reserve seats, so
some days I would get there really early to get a good seat,”
Metson recalled. “I’d often be sitting there until 8
o’clock, waiting for the speeches.”

Metson was particularly moved by the speech of Sen. Barbara
Mikulsky, D-Md, when she invited all the women in the House of
Representatives and Senate to join her on stage.

“Women are making inroads in the Democratic Party, and a
lot of that is because the party has actively encouraged more women
to become involved,” Metson said.

Metson cited the Democratic Party’s commitment to family
leave, pay equality and the right to have an abortion as important
reasons why she is loyal to her party.

To Metson, public service is a moral imperative.

A devout Jew who draws inspiration from Sen. Joseph Lieberman,
D-Conn., Metson said her faith influences her political
outlook.

“We have a term, “˜Ctikkun olam,’ which means
“˜repairing the world,’ “ Metson said. “The
world is not perfect right now because of poverty, crime, and hate,
and it’s my responsibility as a Jew to make the world a
better place.”

As president of the Jewish Student Union, Metson reached out to
people in her religious community. Earlier this year, she organized
“Yom Limud: A Festival of Jewish Learning.”

At the gathering, more than 200 Jewish students from California
congregated at UCLA to hear leaders and rabbis address current
issues, like intermarriage and women in Judaism.

Mike Cohn, a student affairs officer at the Center for Student
Programming and an advisor to the JSU, befriended Metson as they
worked together.

Cohn said she poured tremendous effort into Yom Limud.

“Rachel conceived of the idea, sought out the funding, and
developed the whole program all by herself,” Cohn said.
“She gets things done in such an outstanding, professional,
mature way.”

Daniel Inlender, who recently graduated from UCLA with a degree
in psychobiology, attended Yom Limud and witnessed Metson’s
impact first-hand.

“Rachel united the Jewish community,” he said.
“She brought together different scholars and all the
different Jewish sects. As far as I know, this was the first event
of its kind in America and it received wonderful
feedback.”

Metson has become active in issues that concern her at a time
when her generation is often dubbed apathetic.

While acknowledging that young people tend to stay away from
politics directly, she does not attribute this phenomenon to
apathy.

“Statistics show that people my age are more likely to
take part in community service and activism than older
people,” Metson said, recalling the young people she saw
protesting outside Staples Center.

“So it’s not that we don’t care,” she
continued. “It’s more that young people feel they
can’t make a difference through politics, largely because the
media makes the government seem so corrupt.”

Metson’s experience in politics has shown her
otherwise.

“I’ve been lucky to be involved in politics and see
the little things that do get done and do change,” she
said.

Adi Livni, a fourth-year economics student who transferred to
UCLA, said Metson’s concern is more important than her
political success.

“Rachel has achieved a lot, but it’s not just about
the power or the praise,” Livni said. “She really cares
about what she does.”

When the two met a year ago, Livni said Metson helped her make
the transition to UCLA.

“Rachel introduced me to a lot of her friends and made me
feel like I was part of the group, even though I
wasn’t,” she said. “She’s been the greatest
friend.”

“She’s committed and dedicated, and she brings all
those same qualities to her work, to her friends, and to her
family,” Livni continued.

For Metson, it is not a matter of whether she will enter
politics professionally, but when.

With the DNC behind her, Metson will return to working with
Galanter before heading north to Sacramento where she will begin
the Jesse Unruh Assembly Fellowship Program this fall.

During the one-year program, she will work as a staff member in
the State Assembly while taking public policy classes.

From there, Inlender said Rachel’s possibilities for the
future are limitless.

“Where and how far Rachel goes is a matter of what she
deems necessary,” he said. “Rachel sets goals, and then
she achieves them.”