THE HIGHLANDER
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE
est. 1954
FOR THE WEEK OF TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2018
VOL. 66, ISSUE 13
Carisha Moore Executive Vice President
Martin Cuenca President Pro Tempore
Mariam Al-Khalili CHASS Senator
Roy Tongilava CHASS Senator
Semere Mengistu CHASS Senator
Solomon Demeku-Ousman CHASS Senator
Marco Ornelas CHASS Senator
Reginald Wong CHASS Senator
Grant Nakaoka CHASS Senator
Carolyn Chang CHASS Senator
Valeria Orozco CNAS Senator
Matt Shashaty CNAS Senator
Yes No
Abstain
Priyanka Garg CNAS Senator
Andrew Ng CNAS Senator
Patrick Le BCOE Senator
Amanda Xaypraseuth BCOE Senator
THE
OVER PA RT Y ’ S
In last Wednesday’s meeting, ASUCR senators voted to ban political parties from the 2018 elections. The move makes UC Riverside the first UC campus to ban parties from their student elections and marks the second year in a row that all candidates will run independently.
ASUCR bans political parties for 2018 elections EVAN ISMAIL Senior Staff Writer
On Wednesday, Jan. 17, ASUCR senators officially voted to ban political parties in the 2018 ASUCR elections with a vote of 4-3-9. At 7:03 p.m., Elections Director Taylor Brown introduced the Senate Bill on Political Parties, which she described as “a strikethrough of everything that has to do with the language of parties.” The bill’s only amendment
raised the campaign expenses cap (the maximum amount of money a candidate can spend on a campaign) from $400 to $600. Brown explained that this vote was the senate’s opportunity to “listen to the students” and decide “whether we should save the status quo or make the change that we say we want to make.” Executive Vice President Carisha Moore opened discussion on the senate bill allowing 10 minutes of discussion each for those for and against the bill to address the senate.
Transfer student and third-year English major Justin Domecillo was the first to speak, expressing his support for the legislation. “This senate bill is perfect for allowing students to feel heard,” said Domecillo. He spoke on the concerns of Costo Hall and members of the Diversity Council feeling excluded from the senate, stating that “oftentimes, (the senate) is elected because they have political party backings that people in Costo Hall might not have the ability to enter, be it economic or social-issue related. By strik-
ing down political parties, ASUCR makes very clear in a loud statement that they care about hearing student voices.” Another student, third-year physics major Omar Asad, also expressed his disillusionment with ASUCR’s political party system. “With political parties it is highly impractical for an individual to gain success, to obtain a position that you all obtained last year,” stated Asad. A representative from Asian Pacific Student Programs, who did not state
her name, explained that by perpetuating a party system in the elections, “students will never be the priority but the fulfillment of a party’s and the preservation of itself, that is the number one priority of the party system.” She continued, telling the senators that “if you truly believe you are sitting in these seats because of the repoire you have built and the core values that you hold, you should have no reason or fear of an independent election system.” ► SEE ASUCR, PAGE 4
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