USAC candidates who missed orientation allowed to run in election
Shagun Kabra, undergraduate student government Election Board chair, excused two candidates from the candidate orientation. (Brandon Choe/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Katie Shepherd
April 8, 2015 8:03 a.m.
Two undergraduate student government candidates who missed a mandatory orientation event will still be allowed to run in the upcoming election, the Election Board decided Tuesday.
J. Cesar Flores and Aditi Agrawal missed the mandatory Undergraduate Students Association Council candidate orientation Friday, which is an automatic disqualification unless the absence is excused for a medical emergency or an academic, religious or other conflict.
Flores is running as an independent candidate for the transfer student representative position. Agrawal is a Bruins United candidate for general representative.
Agrawal missed orientation because she was participating in a dance competition, said Election Board Chair Shagun Kabra. She would have attended the orientation that was originally scheduled for Thursday, but she had already booked plane tickets for her competition when the date of the orientation changed, Kabra added.
Flores was absent because of a misunderstanding of election protocol, Kabra said. He thought the Election Board would notify him if he was eligible to run before candidate orientation, but that was not part of the process. The Election Board decided to excuse his absence from the meeting because he cooperated with them and seemed to understand his mistake, Kabra said.
Another independent candidate, Jack Guo, dropped out of the election before the orientation. He would have challenged Amy Shao, a LET’S ACT! candidate, in the race for Cultural Affairs commissioner.
There are 25 candidates running for positions on USAC. Five of the 14 council seats are unopposed.
Voting will be from April 27 to May 1.
Compiled by Katie Shepherd, Bruin senior staff.
