Endorsement: Palma-Saracho has proven worth through dedication

Three capable individuals dedicated to serving students are
running for the the Undergraduate Students Association Council
office of internal vice president, but Allende
Palma-Saracho’s experience in addressing the issues all
candidates agree are important puts him above the competition.

Palma-Saracho, running on the Students First! slate, served this
year as IVP T.J. Cordero’s chief of staff, helping put on
programs that were part of a “Know Your Rights”
campaign, including a voter registration drive. He served as
vice-chair on the Student Fee Advisory Committee, worked with the
Chicano/a studies center, helped program through MEChA and
coordinated outreach with the Student Initiated Outreach
Committee.

Palma-Saracho’s various experiences have given him a
quality understanding of campus workings and what needs to be done
to effect change that will benefit students. Palma-Saracho’s
analysis for how to keep the BruinGo! program running, for example,
was stronger than that of any other candidates’
““ for any office. He did research and found
inefficiencies that could be cut in other campus transportation
services. Given his analysis, he is in a good position to offer a
compelling argument to the administration regarding a program that
everyone supports, but that few have good plans to address.

Additionally, Palma-Saracho offers the proper caution regarding
the possibility of offering USAC funding to all student groups. He
says council should wait for the University of California Office of
the President to set guidelines on what sorts of groups can be
funded, provided they do so in a reasonable amount of time. He also
expresses concern that some groups that could be eligible for
funding are discriminatory in nature.

Allende is up against stiff competition, though. Both Kendra
Carney and Gideon Baum demonstrate a passion to serve students.
Though Carney does not have substantial experience working with
USAC, she has taken leadership roles in her sorority and has
involved herself at UCLA beyond the Greek system. Her motives are
good, and her understanding of campus impressive, but Carney has
not done the work to address important issues that other candidates
have.

Baum, who served as USAC President David Dahle’s chief of
staff, has significant USAC experience, having attended nearly
every meeting this year. Baum is running with the admirable goal of
making USAC appeal to the average student. Baum has various plans
to increase council’s visibility, but the only way to bring
about significantly more interest in USAC is by addressing issues
important to students. To Baum and Carney’s credit, the
issues they plan to address ““ BruinGo!, the minimum
progress requirement, and the Racial Privacy Initiative
““ are all extremely important to students. But neither
has done as much work as Palma-Saracho on these issues.

Palma-Saracho embodies what it is to be a student leader and a
public servant. He lost last year in a bid for a general
representative position. But he didn’t give up.

He found alternative avenues to address the issues important to
him. Now, once again, he is putting himself up for a vote. This
year, voters should reward a student who has already done, and will
continue to do, so much for them.