Even as a graduating senior soon to leave the UCSB campus community, I am still very much concerned about the future of our student government. As a member of the Campus Labor Action Coalition for the past four years, I know the importance of a government that supports the work of organizations like ours. About two years ago, Associated Students passed a resolution in favor of UC membership in the Workers Rights Consortium, an independent monitoring organization working toward enforcement of the UC’s Code of Conduct, a document outlining the UC’s anti-sweatshop policy. In the same year, CLAC along with three other campus organizations received money from A.S. to organize an important conference about globalization.

This year a group of four committed women are running as part of the Student Action Coalition slate along with a number of Legislative Council candidates. Their names are Christine Lawson, Sunbo Bamigboye, Deanna Kavanaugh-Jones, and Isabel Millan. Due to my relationships with these women in classes, conferences, organizations, and on a personal level, I can attest to their level of commitment and qualification.

SAC’s motto is “taking action, attaining access.” Their goals reveal that SAC values equal representation, the environment, and community. SAC will work to create a safe space at UCSB for under-represented groups – women, people of color, the queer community, and the low-income community as well as participate in programs that outreach to these groups. SAC will safeguard funding and support to groups such as the Environmental Affairs Board, Shoreline Preservation Fund, Surfrider, and Calpirg, organizations that have worked incredibly hard to provide campus recycling, serve as a watchdog for development projects, and protect our beaches and forests among numerous other projects. SAC will strengthen ties among the university, its students, and Isla Vista. SAC will also work with the Isla Vista Tenants Union, a critical organization in protecting the rights of both students and families in Isla Vista.

SAC’s endorsements of all the Lock-In Reaffirmations and Funding Initiatives are consistent with it’s goals. The groups that will benefit from the Reaffirmations and Initiatives provide critical services to the campus community. For example, the MultiCultural Center provides a meeting space for groups, a forum for discussions, and programming of both political and cultural events. Recently, the MCC has hosted a number of panels to discuss issues surrounding Sept. 11 in an effort to educate the campus and greater Santa Barbara community. Last week, the Women’s Center organized a number of events for Sexual Violence Awareness Week, an important intervention in a culture that allows sexual assault to go unnoticed and unheard. The I.V. Tenants Union Lock-In fee ensures the continued funding and survival of the Union, one of the few resources available for students who suffer at the mercy of notorious I.V. landlords. SAC also supports the following Reaffirmations and Initiatives: A.S. Membership base fee, Student Commission On Racial Equality Lock-In, Environmental Affairs Board, Intramural Sports Program, Education Opportunity Program, Membership fee, Child Care Grant, Student Health Fee, Recycling Program, and B.I.K.E.s fees.

I strongly urge you to vote for SAC in the upcoming elections on April 23 and 24.

Rukshana Singh is a senior global studies and sociology major.