USAC Endorsement: Joelle Gamble for External Vice President
Joelle Gamblef
The Daily Bruin Editorial Board has endorsed candidates for all 13 offices in this week's undergraduate student government elections.
In deciding endorsements, between two and four representatives of the board met with each candidate to discuss his or her platforms, goals, evaluation of the current council,and knowledge about USAC.
From interviews, we also considered how the candidates would interact with other members of the council and represent a diversity of student needs.
From there, the board voted on the endorsement for each office. The candidate with a majority of the board's votes earned our backing.
We endorsed individuals as individuals, not as slate representatives.
Board members who have personal relationships with the candidates abstained from voting for the office the candidate was running for.
Voting begins today on MyUCLA at 1 p.m. and runs through Thursday at 8 p.m.
See who else the board endorsed:
By Editorial Board
May 2, 2011 1:15 a.m.
Joelle Gamble demonstrates an impressive understanding of undergraduate student government, campus and politics at all levels, earning her this board’s endorsement for external vice president.
Her platforms show a strong commitment to including students from every section of campus, especially in her plan to expand Bruin Lobby Corps. Rather than taking the same students each time to lobby for higher education, Gamble hopes to bring other students to state and local committee meetings on a wider variety of issues. While her opponent, Ilsa Levine, also expressed interest in expanding Bruin Lobby Corps, Levine did not provide concrete ideas on how she would do so.
Particularly impressive was Gamble’s “Money Talks” idea, a three-pronged platform in which she would find ways to stem the cuts to higher education through alternative sources of revenue, advocate for more equitable financial aid and continue the EVP office’s efforts to advance the California DREAM Act.
Her plan to institutionalize voter registration on campus shows an enlightened sense of how to mobilize students to effect real change in the state by rallying around specific pieces of legislation.
As chief of staff in the General Representative 1 office and co-president of the Roosevelt Institute, Gamble represents an ideal balance of USAC experience and knowledge of public policy and government.
Citing USAC bylaws, she said both the president and the EVP have a mandate to advocate for students. By co-programming with the president’s office, Gamble sees her chance to make sure students’ voices are heard both on and off campus.
Gamble showed a clear understanding of issues that can be impacted by student advocacy; she had an almost bookish knowledge of where the state stands on issues affecting students, such as the two bills that make up the DREAM Act and the current discussion of tax extensions.
