Fighting for equal representation for all

ASUC Senate candidate Ross Lingenfelder

By Christopher Page
From the April 2007 Print Edition

Ross Lingenfelder is one of the myriad of students running for ASUC Senate. Unlike many of his fellow candidates, Ross has been to numerous senate meetings to lobby and speak on issues he cares passionately about. Ross shared his vision for UC Berkeley with the Patriot.

 

California Patriot: What are your top three goals for the ASUC in the upcoming year?

Ross Lingenfelder: First, I want to keep Cal affordable. Students work too hard for their money for it to be taxed by the ASUC without a good reason. This year Cal students have the opportunity to say “No!” to the 13 percent hike on our already expensive student fees. As your Senator, I will keep your money in your pocket where it belongs.

 

Second, I want to ensure free student expression. As a political minority student on campus, I have personally experienced unwarranted hostility. I have been degraded, mocked, and harassed. While I don’t agree with the stances that several groups take, our campus is intellectually stronger for encouraging all different persuasions to present themselves. As Voltaire once said, “I might not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” The best way to represent students is to encourage students to present themselves. I guarantee that the intellectual forum known as the ASUC Senate will be accessible to all students.

 

Lastly, I will enforce fiscal responsibility. Being a public school, Cal does not have money to waste. Students trust their elected officials to spend funds well. Those at the junior college across the bay might be able to throw away money, but we Bears cannot afford to be as irresponsible as them. Active, effective student groups and student-generated activities will receive proper funding.

 

CP: What is your view on ASUC spending? How can it be improved?

RL: We spend way too much and way too inefficiently. Like all governments, the ASUC is tax-and-waste, not cut-and-rethink. The ASUC spends too much money on its own executive offices. If elected I will fight to cut executive office budgets and return the money to students. I would like to return the ASUC to a system where students buy a membership and are not forced into it automatically. This would provide incentives to fund student activities according to merit rather than to the feelings of the “powers that be.” Critics might argue that groups, projects, or activities wouldn’t get the money they deserve. To them I retort that if they deserve the money, then their members should join the ASUC! It’s really just basic market forces in action.

 

CP: How will you represent those students who are not Republican?

RL: I am not running as a Republican. While I tend to have conservative values, I am simply one student who would like to serve his fellow students. I feel that some of our elected officials have become so entrenched in the oligarchic student government that they forget that they are servants, not masters, to us Cal Bears. Too often the senate and the executives overstep their governmental bounds, a habit that must be kicked. All students — Democrats, Republicans, and all others — should spend their money the way they see fit. I will put funding back into student groups.

 

CP: Do you think the ASUC truly represents all students and their concerns?

RL: Does any government truly represent all of its constituents? The real problem is not that the senate does not represent every student, but that it has gone out of its way to alienate minority students. Bills that are politically, racially, socially, or morally estranging must stay outside the senate chambers. We believe in “equality under the law,” not in “all are equal, but some are more equal than others.” The senate should not advance any political agenda. Its duty is to help make students productive by funding projects and groups. Taking political positions on abortion or affirmative action is fine for groups, but the senate should not speak for all students in the alienating ways that it has.

 

CP: Are there any ASUC programs you would like to see expanded or enhanced?

RL: The ASUC Web site needs help. Links do not work, information is not posted, and some parts are so outdated it is disgraceful. Transparency and accessibility should be among the jobs of the senate. Cal is on the verge of several construction projects, some of which have a real potential to enhance student life. As far as student groups are concerned, I am a firm believer in merit-based pay. It isn’t for me to decide arbitrarily where expansion is needed; it’s the consumer, the student population, who must prove to the senate that they will spend money well.

 

CP: What motivated you to run for a spot in the senate?

RL: I have had several experiences with the senate, and I was not particularly impressed with the way that some students at the world’s number one public university conducted themselves. This year we were lucky to have some fine conservative students in the senate, and I would like to continue that legacy. Too often there is a misconception about conservative thought, and I would like to help my left-minded friends realize that we conservatives have ideas worth entertaining too. I see an inspiring trend in the growth of student conservatism, and I am ready to lead this movement with a positive attitude. After all, that’s the true spirit of the Reagan Revolution!

 

CP: Any last words?

RL: Vote for Ross Lingenfelder and the Berkeley Squirrel Party in the upcoming election. And, as always: Go Bears!

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