The Defend Affirmative Action Party has announced its executive candidates for the 2012 ASUC general election.
The party is running on a five-point platform, promising to work toward a reversal of fee hikes, double underrepresented minority student enrollment, campaign for the passage of a federal DREAM Act, stop British Petroleum-funded research projects on campus and drop all charges against student protesters involved in the Nov. 9 Occupy Cal protest.
“(W)e know it’s necessary to build a new, mass, integrated, youth and student-led civil rights movement to restore the right to public education for all,” said senior and party chair Matt Williams in a statement.
Williams, senior Jeremy Palmer, junior Alisha Johnson and junior Victor Martinez are running for president, executive vice president, external affairs vice president and student advocate, respectively. The party does not have an academic affairs vice presidential candidate.
The party is running 20 senate candidates, including the executive candidates, who are running for senate in addition to the executive positions. A party candidate has never won an executive position before.
The party was founded by the activist group BAMN in 1997, according to Bay Area organizer Justin Cheong, and Williams said the organization has strong ties to the Occupy movement.
“We work hand-in-hand with Occupy Cal,” he said.
BAMN national organizer Yvette Felarca — an active protester facing criminal charges for her involvement in the Nov. 9 Occupy Cal protest — is the party’s primary campaign manager and was an ASUC senator from 2003 to 2004.
As a BAMN organizer, Williams said he has experience defending affirmative action and immigrant rights and wants to bring change to the campus by “building mass direct action and uniting students at Cal with the strength of our surrounding communities.”
Palmer was one of the leaders of the January campus anthropology library occupation and said he is committed to representing the rights of students. He was vice president of the Associated Student Government at American River College in Sacramento.
“I will be accountable to and work on behalf of the students, not the administration,” he said in a statement.
Johnson is running on a platform of commitment to the integration of minorities and people from all backgrounds and cultures on campus.
“It’s simply unacceptable that the premier public university in the nation discriminates against the state’s majority minority student populations,” she said in a statement.
Martinez plans to use his experience as vice president of judicial affairs at Merced College to help support the federal DREAM Act.
“Everyone in the DAAP party has their own passion,” he said. “We can bring a collective voice to a lot of issues that are affecting students today.”
Voting for the election will occur April 10, 11 and 12.
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In the photo above Matt Williams and Jeremy Palmer are clearly Caucasian males. So why have they not voluntarily withdrawn from Cal so that a person of color can take their place? They are running on a platform of Affirmative Action, after all.
True, but liberal-progressive types don’t believe it should apply to them, because they are above the law.
modern affirmative action should be based on socioeconomic status, not race. Seems like a pretty simple solution. By continuing race-based action, all you’re doing is perpetuating racial inequality…
I support affirmative action, but I think Alisha Johnson’s comment about discrimination is misplaced. Berkeley doesn’t control whether they can take race into consideration in admissions – the state of California decides that. The university can’t violate state policies. Focus on change in Sacramento because that’s the only place it can happen.
Working “hand in hand”? bahahahahahahah.
During the anti-war protests of 2001/2002, the progressive alliance banned BAMN from attending coalition meetings after they continue to co-opt the movement and kept making false statements claiming they were speaking for the coalition.
Oh that picture is so cute. “What do you want to be when you grow up, little boy?” “I want to be a radical!”
When students vote, they should remember that the BSU and BAMN helped bring Fart-His-Can to campus and thus should pay the consequences. Even those who would otherwise support affirmative action should keep these people for being elected in response to their anti-Semitic, homophobic, and misogynist hero to UCB and then giving that scum-sucking porker a standing ovation…
Why should BSU and BAMN seek the votes of the largely white (including Jews) and Asian student body? It’s hard to imagine Asians, who are admitted because of brains, skill and hardwork, supporting a policy of discrimination vs them launched by those who brought a thug to campus who proceeded to engage in such racist banner vs Asians.
In short, BSU and BAMN are racist, misogynist anal passages and in no way should their candidates be considered worthy of election…
Defend Affirmative Action Party
In other words, Defend Racism and Discrimination Party.
These people are fucking losers. lol
[The party was founded by the activist group BAMN in 1997]
A party founded by a racist group is racist.
omfg this is hilarious. I just might vote for someone from Calserve of Student Action to keep this guys out of the ASUC
Calserve or Student Action
“It’s simply unacceptable that the premier public university in the nation discriminates against the state’s majority minority student populations,” You mean more qualified people get in based on their academic achievments over others? Perish the thought!
You mean academic achievements attained through a system designed for them and to oppress the rest?
As a minority who fled his war-torn country as child with nothing but a diaper, but who ended up being academically successful, I’m truly surprised to learn of this so called system. I had no idea that the US system was designed several hundred years in advance in anticipation of my arrival.
even though you are a “minority,” your mind is colonized.
DAAP = pure blooded racists
Another bunch of idiots who have yet to figure out why the UC system is in deep financial kimchee.