USAC CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENTS

The three serious presidential candidates run the gamut in terms
of politics and experience.

But African Student Union President Karren Lane’s
credentials blow her opponents out of the water. Lane offers four
years of experience as a proven student organizer and activist.

She was instrumental in organizing the massive March 14 protest
to repeal SP-1, the most dramatic demonstration of student activism
at UCLA since 1998.

Her resume reveals her dedication to working on behalf of all
UCLA students and fighting for potential UCLA students. She serves
as the USAC appointed representative to the Student Fee Advisory
Committee, which reviews budget proposals, and sits on the Student
Initiated Outreach Committee, the Campus Retention Committee and
the statewide Affirmative Action Coalition. This year Lane also
worked with USAC on behalf of the Student Advocacy Groups during
the bylaw revision process.

At the protest in March, Lane stood up to the administration and
the regents, proving her leadership and gumption ““ something
painfully lacking in this year’s council.

No doubt, her hard work contributed to getting SP-1 and 2 on the
agenda for the May UC Regents’ meeting. But Lane
doesn’t plan to stop there. She will work with the
administration on admissions reform to produce direct results at
UCLA while also leading USAC in the fight against Proposition 209,
the 1998 statewide ballot measure that banned the use of
affirmative action and renders the repeal of SP-1 and 2
symbolic.

But Lane seems less willing than her opponents to reach out to
groups not already entrenched in USAC, and that is her biggest
weakness. This year’s Freedom Forum in the days preceding the
March protest was exclusionary ““ certainly not a good way to
ingratiate herself or her goal of repealing SP-1 with the majority
of the student body.

But after witnessing the reactionary election of current USAC
President Elizabeth Houston, Lane and the rest of Student
Empowerment! seem to be gradually opening their eyes to the rest of
campus.

Lane plans to create a student organization fair to help student
groups feel more included and represented in USAC. She also wants
to organize a student task force, inclusive of all groups of
students, that brings its concerns to USAC to be addressed.

But Lane’s record of staunch support of SAGs should not
intimidate the students who feel alienated by USAC’s
politics. Her positive attitude, charisma, frequent references to
“positive dialogue” and proven record of action show
that she’s ready and willing to move Student Empowerment! (a
reincarnation of Praxis) beyond the past.

Independent candidate David Ehrenberg sells himself as a
mediator, basically lacking any vision for himself beyond that. His
emphasis on mediation is strangely appealing after this year of
unparalleled strife and inefficiency at the council table.

Though a serious mediator was desperately needed between current
President Houston and Internal Vice President Elias Enciso, few
councils in UCLA history could be as atypically divisive and
ineffective as this year’s. We want more from our student
government than arguments and more from our president than
mediation.

Lane offers the vision that Ehrenberg lacks, as well as enough
mediation skill to work through typical council disagreements.

Ehrenberg also disappointed us when he said he supported the
deadlines set by the administration that forced USAC to revise its
bylaws. President Houston also supported these deadlines which
splintered the council and created a temporarily administration-run
student government.

However, Ehrenberg’s keen grasp of most salient campus
issues and his fresh perspective as ““ he is quick to point
out ““ a Latino, Jew and former Interfraternity Council
member, make him someone we would like to see involved with
USAC.

If Lane is really willing to move her slate forward, reach out
to the alienated segments of campus and make a difference, she
should offer Ehrenberg a position in the office of the president.
And if Ehrenberg is the mediator he claims to be, he’ll
accept it, bridging the gaps that have existed too long on this
campus.

Relatively unknown Dusan Miletich is the S.U.R.E. slate’s
presidential candidate. Miletich’s goal is to revolutionize
the structure of USAC ““ which requires at least a majority on
the council to be S.U.R.E. members, a virtual impossibility.

Students who want more representation in USAC cannot vote for a
president running a slate that pays lip service to reform but
offers no actual plan. They aren’t offering a specific plan
for fear of alienating some students, but without a plan, every
student ““ except the elite few in S.U.R.E. ““ is
alienated.

Miletich, like most S.U.R.E. candidates, has minimal experience
and little understanding of the difficulties in a massive overhaul
of student government. The perennial politician, Miletich offers a
smile and a promise. Though he insists it’s not, he admits
much of what he says sounds like rhetoric. Frankly, we agree.

Therefore, the Daily Bruin Editorial Board endorses Karren Lane
for USAC President. She has the experience necessary for such an
important position and fights for the causes we believe in. We
encourage her to focus on concrete campus issues, such as
implementing a diversity requirement, so the effects are felt
directly by the student body.

If elected, she needs to become a leader for all students, move
beyond the regime-like slate system and bridge the gap. Her ability
to do so will determine the success of the rest of her goals.

PRESIDENT David Ehrenberg Independent
Karren Lane Student Empowerment!
Dusan Miletich S.U.R.E.