Submission: Why We Are Leaving Tritons United

UC San Diego,

It is in the wake of many occurrences throughout the past few weeks, and careful reflection, that we have determined there to be irreconcilable differences between our values and our hopes for this campus and those of the current Tritons United slate’s management.

There have been several grievances filed throughout the course of this election that we encourage students to read about by signing into their TritonLink account on the Associated Students of UCSD (ASUCSD) elections website. We do not plead ignorance and we recognize we are at fault for not taking action sooner. We were wrong for this, and we wholeheartedly apologize. This is our way of making it right.

Tritons United’s management has violated the elective process that the UCSD student body deserves. Our desire to rally against this kind of unethical conduct is why we have chosen to disassociate ourselves from the name Tritons United and run as independent candidates in the ASUCSD elections. Furthermore, our disassociation aims to bring light to greater issues, both historical and current, that plague the Tritons United name and brand. This is not simply us jumping ship; rather, we wish to bring light to these issues and ensure that there is no possibility for the student body to be misled in the ways we ourselves have been misled.

We came into this campaign jumping at the opportunity to be a part of a returning slate to unite and responsibly represent the current undergraduate community, but have come to realize that Tritons United is based on ideals and practices that we as individuals, grounded in our morals, do not support.

The disassociating members were initially motivated to run for ASUCSD Council to provide representation for all current students. We aimed to address the current disconnect between what school administration does and what students desire. As leaders in many communities across campus and as students who actively participate in a diverse range of student organizations, we wished to bring more accountability to the establishments that are ASUCSD and college councils.

We would like to make it clear that, as students, we do not believe the current management of Tritons United has fulfilled its obligations to us. Its troubled history extends far beyond the confines of this year’s election, and it is important to us that the student body does not forget this and become victim to the moral decay the slate has continuously inspired in years’ past.

Although we have fundamental issues with Tritons United’s management, we still believe that the group of candidates that are disassociating are fully capable of effectively representing and passionately advocating for every undergraduate on this campus. It is for this reason that we have decided to continue our campaigns and run to be your 2019–2020 Associated Students representatives as candidates independent from any institutionalized slate.

Former Tritons United V.P. of Campus Affairs candidate Elvin Topalov supports the decision for these candidates’ withdrawals and re-filing as independents.

Signed,

Deema Alsaied – Off-Campus Senator Candidate //signed, da, 06 April 2019//

Erika M. Kelly – Transfer Senator Candidate //signed, emk, 06 Apr 2019//

Danielle D. Viviani – Campus Wide Senator Candidate //signed, ddv, 06 Apr 2019//

Thomas Walker Nabors – Physical Sciences Senator Candidate //signed, twn, 06 Apr 2019//

Adarsh N. Parthasarathy – Arts & Humanities Senator Candidate //signed, anp, 06 Apr 2019//

Mina L. Shareghi – Campus Wide Senator Candidate //signed, mls, 06 April 2019//

Nancy (Ziyue) Zhang – Campus Wide Senator Candidate //signed, zz, 06 April 2019//

Garrett J. Taylor – Engineering Senator Candidate //signed, G.J.T., 06 April 2019//

Gage M. Bazinet – Campus Wide Senator Candidate //signed, G.M.B, 07 April 2019//

Amor Y. Goetz- Biological Sciences Senator Candidate// signed, AYG, 07 April 2019//

Alejandra (Ale) Felix Campos- Off-Campus Senator Candidate// signed, AFC, 07 April 2019//

Ananya Sirisuwannatash (Prim) – Social Sciences Senator Candidate// signed, AS, 07 April 2019//

Elvin Topalov – Former Vice President of Campus Affairs Candidate// signed, ET, 07 April 2019//

Tiger Huang – Vice President of External Affairs// signed, TH, 07 April 2019//

Karsyn Stewart – Campus Wide Senator Candidate// *unable to sign due to electronic unavailability*

The positions stated here do not necessarily represent the opinions of The Triton, any of its members, or any of its affiliates. We welcome responses to opinion pieces. If you’d like to submit a response, or comment on a different issue affecting the UC community, please submit here.