IVP runoff to determine council dominance
By Daily Bruin Staff
May 5, 2002 9:00 p.m.
T.J. Cordero Justin Levi
By Teri H.P. Nguyen
DAILY BRUIN CONTRIBUTOR
T.J. Cordero and Justin Levi face off in the final round of
Undergraduate Students Association Council elections ““ a
fight worthy of pay-per-view.
The stakes are high, considering the fact that the fate of the
IVP office and whether the Student Empowerment! slate can maintain
dominance on council rests on one of these two candidates’
shoulders.
Of the 4,811 students who voted, Cordero acquired 47.62 percent
of the votes, with Levi following close behind with 46.06 percent.
Neither clinched the 50 percent mark needed to win, resulting in a
runoff election being held this Wednesday and Thursday.
The dominance of Student Empowerment!, USAC’s powerhouse
slate with predecessors Students First! and Praxis, is being
threatened by Students United for Reform and Equality.
Running under the SURE slate is Levi, a third-year political
science and history student and current president of the Jewish
Student Union.
Student Empowerment! has selected current USAC Finance Committee
chair T.J. Cordero, a fourth-year philosophy student, to lead the
university as IVP.
If Levi wins, SURE will gain control of USAC 6-4; if Cordero
wins, a deadlock 5-5 ratio between SURE and Student Empowerment!
will result.
Cordero can offer financial and USAC experience, acquired as
Finance Committee chair, while Levi offers strong organizational
and program planning skills that were sharpened during his time as
JSU president.
Both candidates need to address the controversial issue
regarding student funding.
Levi and his fellow slate members want objective criteria to
determine allocation of student fees for student organizations.
“The tier system for funding is not a
Robin-Hood-rob-the-rich-and-give-to-the-poor system,” Levi
said. “Rather, it’s to give smaller organizations a
chance at more money.”
The tier system, a new proposal by SURE, determines funding by
each organization’s size, history, and impact on students.
Organizations within the same tier receive the same funding, Levi
said. He said Student Empowerment! members now favor organizations
that are registered with that slate.
Cordero responded by appealing to certain rules the budget
committee must comply with.
In response to why certain groups have received more funding in
the past, Cordero said, “There are criteria already set out
by the bylaws that must be upheld as well,” such as
presentation of proposals, quality of past programming and the
impact on students.
What Levi proposes is not much different from the status quo in
terms of meeting criteria; it may even be an
“oversimplification,” Cordero said.
In addition to organizational funding, representing student
interests, activities and organizations ““ another
responsibility of the IVP ““ may potentially be threatened if
a deadlock occurs on the mixed council next year.
Second-year mechanical engineering student Donald Harris said
disagreement will occur, but “they must find something that
they can agree on. If they don’t, they are not going to be
very productive.”
The candidates agree that should they be elected, they will have
no problems working with members from the other slate.
“My loyalties lie with the students, even if it means
going against what my slate believes in,” Levi said.
Cordero promised that he will look out for students, regardless
of what Student Empowerment! and SURE believes.
He also acknowledged that there is more to being a council
member than student representation, such as administrative
work.
