Two new Associated Students (A.S.) political parties, Campus United and Peer Action Coalition (PAC), were formed in early February following the disbandment of Open People’s Party.

The Open People’s Party (OPP) was the primary A.S. political party during last year’s spring elections. OPP was disbanded earlier this month as two new political parties, Campus United and the Peer Action Coalition, were created within the last week in an attempt to bring more diversity to the A.S. senate board. A Bill to Switch Associated Students Elections to a single transferable vote system the student elections system to a single transferrable vote (STV) process was passed in October and will go into effect this spring which will use ranking averages instead of singular votes to choose election winners.

Dustin Larrazolo, PAC member and third-year biochemistry major, said PAC was created to provide “all-inclusive” and non-toxic spaces within A.S.

“We want to bring everyone home to A.S. I want to open up these spaces so that the people can tell us what to do,” Larrazolo said. “The students are the leaders and we [senate] are the vote. I’m strong proponent of that and democratic caucuses.”

Nushi Yapabandara, PAC member and second-year philosophy, psychology and sociology triple major, said the goal of the Peer Action Coalition is to create a safe and accepting space for students of all backgrounds to experience A.S.

“We want to ensure every Gaucho feels that they can have their voice heard through our group, whether it’s them wanting to actively help us with campaigning or if it’s them addressing concerns with future candidates,” Yapabandara said.

Niki Elyasi, Campus United member and third-year biopsychology major, said Campus United was created to put students first as they are the party’s priority.

“We are all about the student experience and improving it the best that we can and taking action on clear consensus student issues that would benefit all of us,” Elyasi said. “So we are really a student-focused, student-run movement looking to get involved in A.S.”

Elyasi said Campus United was created to bring more diversity to senate.

“We wanted to get a voice out that we feel hasn’t been heard as vocally and that’s the voice of the students for improved resources and academic distinction on campus,” Elyasi said.

According to Yapabandara, the purpose of the PAC is to give UCSB students from diverse backgrounds a chance to be represented by senators who identify with them.

“Up until now, A.S. has been a very particular type of UCSB student,” Yapabandara said. “As someone who was a campaign manager for one of the two major political parties last year, I remember feeling very left out because the students Senate has had in the past were of a particular social group.”

Larrazolo said PAC is comprised of student leaders from Senate, the Office of Student Life, Resident Hall Council and various other student groups to give the party.

“A.S. programs only benefits about 20 percent of students and we strive to expand that through collaborations with Office of Student Life Organizations, the Residence Halls Association and student clubs to let students understand what resources are available,” Larrazolo said. “We strive to have the multiplicity representative of our university because every student is a part of A.S. I don’t think only 23 people should handle 11 million dollars.”

Yapabandara said she was unable to run with the Open People’s Party last year despite her desire to run for an A.S. political office.

“It was very discouraging because I wanted to help make change at the university but did not have the necessary connections to even be able to run with the party,” Yapabandara said.

Ashcon Minoiefar, Campus United member and third-year history of public policy major, said one party cannot adequately represent the student body.

“I think that it was an inevitable thing where you can’t just have one group that tries to represent everybody because no matter how holistic, how genuine you try to be, it just doesn’t really work,” Minoiefar said.

Jimmy Villarreal, A.S. President and fourth-year history of public policy major, said the formation of new parties would be healthy for senate and for the campus.

“I definitely think it is good to have competition. Competition breeds excellence. Complacency breeds mediocrity,” Villareal said.

Minoiefar said he encourages students to form other political parties that represent them and their values.

“We wanted to start something new in hopes that other people would continue to make new parties,” Minoiefar said. “We’re hoping that other parties can come up and have their focuses too, so that the parties are more representative of a variety of interest at the school.”

Larrazolo said one goal of PAC is to institutionalize education reform to exercise A.S.’s one third-power within university spaces.

“Students will be able to address their concerns more effectively. Since Academic Affairs Board was disbanded, we have no central power with regard to our academics. What’s the point of A.S. when you can’t even lobby or express concerns in our education when A.S. isn’t there to represent them effectively.”

Yapabandara said PAC wants to educate students on the resources available to them since many students do not understand what their student fees fund.

“We also want to make sure Gauchos know the benefits they can receive from A.S. so that they can utilize their resources on and off campus as necessary,” Yapabandara said.

Minoiefar said Campus United will be focusing on preventing additional student fee increases.

“We have the highest fees by far out of all the UC’s but we don’t have necessarily an extreme amount of services compared to some other schools,” Minoiefar said. “I think a large focus is to ensure that what we currently take from students is being paid well and also that students are aware of where the money goes.”

Minoiefar said A.S. does not have much control over what programs and institutions are funded.

“Over here our student fees pay for the UCen, they pay for the MCC, they pay for the Rec Cen, they pay for a great deal of stuff that people don’t know they’re being paid for but we have a lot less control,” Minoiefar said.

Yapabandara said she is eager to see what happens during the elections because of the multiple parties.

“I am very excited to see what will happen in this year’s elections because there are so many more parties who are also focusing on other parts of the student population, combined with the new STV system,” Yapabandara said.

Minoiefar said has high hopes for the party’s future come spring elections.

“I’m very confident in people wanting to join our party and seeing what we have to offer but I do think it will have contributed to a healthier association and a healthier campus,” Minoiefar said.

A version of this story appeared on p. 4 of the Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016 edition of the Daily Nexus.

[Correction: This story originally quotes Larrazolo as saying “We want to bring everyone home from A.S. I want to open up these spaces so that people can tell us what to do… The students are the leaders and we [senate] are the vote. I’m strong proponent of that democratic caucuses,” when the correct statement reads “We want to bring everyone home to A.S. I want to open up these spaces so that the people can tell us what to do… The students are the leaders and we [senate] are the vote. I’m strong proponent of that and democratic caucuses.”

This article also originally read “We strive to have multiplicity representative of our university because every student is apart of A.S. I don’t think 23 people should handle 11 million dollars.” However, the correct statement is “We strive to have the multiplicity representative of our university because every student is a part of A.S. I don’t think only 23 people should handle 11 million dollars.”

Also, the article originally quoted Larrazolo as saying “Students will be able to address their concerns more effectively. Since Academic Affairs was disbanded, we have no central power. What’s the point of A.S. when you can’t even lobby or express concerns in our education when A.S. isn’t there to represent them,” when the correct statement reads “Students will be able to address their concerns more effectively. Since Academic Affairs Board was disbanded, we have no central power with regard to our academics. What’s the point of A.S. when you can’t even lobby or express concerns in our education when A.S. isn’t there to represent them effectively.”]

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