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Friday, May 1, 1998

Martin Chippas

Presidential candidate Martin Chippas

is a third-year student majoring in political science.

What is the role of the USAC president?

The constitutional role of the president is to preside over the USAC meetings and to be a representative at ASUCLA meetings.

I have parliamentary procedure experience and I will run the meetings under "Roberts Rule," and I will make appointments and I will make rulings on whether things are in order or not.

But also, I think the president is sort of the leader of whatever coalition you have built, and, if I have the capacity, I will try to get accomplished all the various planks our platform and slate is running on.

It is going to be a big sport no matter what, because there are people who are running unopposed on both (slates). So obviously, if I am elected, I will have to do some compromising with other groups. I am willing to listen to them. What I have heard from the endorsement hearings is that if (Praxis) has the majority, they are not willing to work with us. If we have the majority and we are elected to work with them, we will work with them.

We are going to submit our views because it is a democracy on this campus and we will compromise with them if necessary, with the exception of the political issue.

If elected, what direction do you plan on taking USAC?

The main reason why all of us on the Sanity slate are running for student government is because we have seen here, at UCLA, a student government that has not addressed all of the concerns of the student body. They have been really interested in promoting a particular ideology and promoting the concerns of only a few groups that support it. What I want to do is open it up to all the student groups that want to participate in (student government) and who want to put on any event or program that will benefit UCLA as a whole, the success of UCLA as a whole, and I think that is our primary purpose and that is what I am going to try to do.

What are three major issues facing the university in the upcoming year?

Obviously what I just addressed, the accessibility issue, ending the special status of just certain groups. We are going to treat all groups equally, we're going to provide them funding for facilities on the basis of what programs they are going to do and how they are benefitting the campus and on the size of the organization, not on whether they support us personally.

The two other big issues on the campus are the issues of parking and housing. These issues have not been adequately addressed by the people who have controlled student government and the people who are running for re-election now. We are going to do our best to work with the administration and the people in charge.

Do you think there should be a change in the admissions criteria? If so, how do you propose implementing them?

I think the drop of underrepresented minorities on campus is a reflection of the problems with affirmative action. I think affirmative action masks the problem ... which is the case of troubled education. Education in a lot of communities is completely inadequate. That is not really something that student government can do very much about, with the exception of outreach programs, which try to get to these communities for people who are qualified but who otherwise wouldn't apply here. So we (the Sanity slate) support the various organizations on campus who are already doing that and we will fund them in any way we can that involves their participation at UCLA. But, when it comes to what they are doing off campus, we support them, but we don't think the students should have to pay for something that they do not support.

Some have criticized USAC for being too political. Is it appropriate for USAC to take a stance on political issues?

USAC is more than just too political; they are entirely political. They have used their power and their money to promote their own political ideology. I know for a fact that it is not the political ideology of everybody on campus and I think it is simply wrong to take money from students for things they may or may not support or believe in, which is why we are going to cut student fees and stop using money for political things. I greatly encourage students to get involved in politics. I think it is great. I support free speech. I think campus organizations should address and support anything that they believe in, but I don't think students should have to pay for things that they do not believe in.

Where would you place yourself on the political spectrum?

I basically am libertarian on the political spectrum. I believe in limited government and the absolute right of the individual. I'm registered Republican but am definitely skewed toward the libertarian side.