UCLA deserves a full and honest explanation of the activities of its student government, and I hope with this submission to clear up what happened at the Undergraduate Students Association Council meeting last week.
The USAC presidential appointments process is usually a battle between political factions, and with an evenly split council this year, it seemed like the process was going to be more contentious than ever.
As president, I decided I wanted to avoid wasting the council’s time in bickering over each appointment, so I took the unorthodox route of sitting down with leaders of the Students First! party to negotiate with them and make sure everyone was satisfied with the applicants I forwarded.
I hoped that by allowing them to suggest applicants they felt would do a good job and by running my suggestions by them before I forwarded anyone, the whole council could support the appointees, leaving officers to focus on their work.
This method worked for the dozens of appointments I made in the spring, arguably the most influential appointments, such as the ASUCLA Board of Directors and the Budget Review Director. It seemed like we had a great system, and I hoped to continue it.
Unexpectedly, for this particular round of appointments, the Students First! members would not compromise on a single position and left me with no choice but to pick the appointees I personally believed would do the best job.
Except for one of the 20, all my appointees passed through the Appointments Review Committee, proving their competence, and I did not hear a single complaint from any council members regarding my choices.
Without any warning, the five Students First! council members announced at the beginning of the meeting that I had refused to negotiate with them and that I am forwarding unqualified applicants who helped me get elected. These allegations are entirely unfounded, as I have made unprecedented efforts to be open to communication, compromise and fairness.
I have forwarded applicants I saw campaigning against me, new transfer students, and students I’ve never met – all because of their stellar applications and potential. The Students First! council members got up and walked out of the meeting, leaving us without an official quorum and unable to continue with our agenda which contained additional business after the appointments.
Some may be tempted to compare this episode to the strategy that a council member used last year. While I was absent from that meeting and, to be quite honest, disagreed with the strategy, I recognized, as I do now, that the “disappearing quorum” move is legal.
Please know that a majority of USAC is still prioritizing the student body and working hard for UCLA.
Kaisey is the 2006-2007 Undergraduate Students Association Council president.