Coalition to run slate in UA election

In an unprecedented move, the Coalition for Responsive Student Government has declared its intention to run a slate of candidates in March's Undergraduate Assembly elections. The candidates will be running for approximately 18 to 23 of the 25 available UA seats, spokesperson Scott Sher said Sunday night. The Coalition is running the group of candidates at the suggestion of UA Chairperson Jeff Lichtman, said Sher, a College junior. But Sher said part of the reason the Coalition has become involved in student politics is because the current UA has "become completely disconnected from students as a whole." "I think the UA has become an old boys' network like Congress," Sher said. "Look at the phone bill incident, and you will find that these people have a serious problem with abuse of power." "I don't think it adequately represents students on the whole," said Sher, adding that the Coalition draws members from "all parts of the University community," including the Black Student League and the Chinese Students Association. UA member Ethan Youderian said he welcomes the Coalition's challenge. "I think that each candidate should be evaluated on an individual basis," said Youderian, a Wharton junior. "I don't see a threat by it. If I run, I will run my campaign. If they run, then they will run their campaign." Nominations and Elections Committee Chairperson Michael Monson said he expects the upcoming election to be different than most. "It should be an amazing election," Monson, a College junior, said. "That's what it's all about -- to keep people involved, to keep the system working." "The better the system it is, the more respectability it gets, and the more effective student government is," he added. A platform statement issued by the Coalition outlines the group's three main focuses -- student-administration relations, campus life and relations with the West Philadelphia community. Sher said he thinks these issues should attract students. "These ideas are essential in bringing change [to the University]," Sher said. "[But] what's more important is how we are going to bring change to the student government."

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