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Presidential candidates Jenny Wood (left), Jake Strom and Alex Gruenberg.

A sea of fingers filled the air in the De Neve Auditorium, “shimmering” – wiggling fingers as a substitute to applause – to support candidates running in the Undergraduate Students Association Council elections.

Candidates for the USAC election came together Thursday night in a debate sponsored by the Daily Bruin and BruinNews29. Approximately 90 students were in attendance, 25 of whom were wearing blue Bruins United shirts, with several others wearing Student Power! buttons or shirts.

The debate experienced several vicissitudes, including personal attacks by candidates on one another. Bruin Liberation Movement candidate Jake Strom, dressed in a chicken suit, openly expressed confidence in Bruins United candidate Alex Gruenberg. The event also included the exit of USAC Elections Board Chairman Nathan Lam from the auditorium after a candidate was allowed to speak out of turn. He later said in a statement he did not want to legitimize the event with his presence.

Jenny Wood, a USAC general representative and presidential candidate with Student Power! summarized her accomplishments on USAC and other campus groups. She expressed her goals to found an alternate admissions program that would admit underprivileged minorities to UCLA and ensure access to sexual health resources on campus.

Gruenberg, current Financial Supports commissioner and the Bruins United presidential candidate, said he wanted to make USAC more representative and Westwood more student-friendly.

Strom said he wanted to make USAC more fun and accessible to students.

He said a funding discrepancy existed between what he called “cultural groups” supported by USAC and other campus groups, and said his fellow candidates represented minority interests on campus. He gestured toward Gruenberg when he said “white people in the frat system” and toward Wood when he said “cultural groups.”

Gruenberg rebutted that his slate, Bruins United, was not predominantly white candidates, but told Strom his criticism of USAC was legitimate. “A lot of these students aren’t being represented. A lot has to do with the folks in power,” he said.

Wood and Gruenberg disagreed on issues such as repealing the expected cumulative progress requirement, the minimum unit requirement that Students First!, Wood’s current slate, has opposed.

Wood and Gruenberg also took opposing views on changing the council to a senate system, which was debated earlier this year.

The second portion of the debate consisted of two town hall meetings.

The first town hall brought together the candidates for internal and external vice president positions.

Candidates from both Student Power! and Bruins United discussed issues such as equity in student group funding and representation of students within USAC.

“People don’t feel a connection to USAC,” said Bruins United internal vice presidential candidate Kristina Doan. “You know there can be more representation at UCLA.”

When candidates for internal vice president were asked whether or not a student senate should be implemented, Doan and Students Power! candidate Tommy Tseng argued over the reasoning behind such an implementation.

“My question (to Doan) is are you using the senate system as a political tool to get elected, or do you really care about a senate system as a good way to better students’ lives?” Tseng said. During the second town hall, candidates for the general representative positions answered a similar set of questions from the moderators.

Candidates outlined their experience, the successes and failures of the current general representatives, and how general representatives should address academic policies next year.