Beyond a three-point platform

In praise of ASUC Senate candidate Christian Osmeña

By Tommy Owens
From the April 2007 Print Edition

            Even when I first met Christian Osmeña at the end of the Spring 2006 Rush, his candor and leadership abilities struck me. Just months later, the pledges at Sigma Nu unanimously elected him to be our pledge class president. This was no small honor, since he was principally in charge of maintaining chapter–pledge class relations and ensuring that we were doing our work. He helped manage two major “pledge projects” for the House, including the reconstruction of the library and structural work on the third floor. Even when we were pledges, I saw in Osmeña both an attention to detail and an overall view of the big picture.

 In the Fall 2006 semester, Osmeña became the social chair— not an easy task for a second-year student who had only been living in our House for a month or two. He organized numerous parties and sorority exchanges, and kept a meticulous record of money spent and funds remaining. Again, he was able to simultaneously focus on both the detail and the big picture. He had many bold ideas about social events and their themes. Fall 2006 was one of the most successful social semesters we have had in a while, and much of the credit rightfully belongs to Osmeña.

The Chapter elected Osmeña as the fraternity president with a sizeable majority. We knew he would work hard and keep his eye on the bigger picture, and the coming future as well. Late in February, he asked me to be his campaign manager for the ASUC Senate slated by the Student Action party. I immediately accepted. I knew Osmeña would make a great senator. He will pay attention to the details of the campaign and his constituencies, but he also has a bigger, better vision for the ASUC Senate.

 Osmeña hopes to see Cal renew its interest in public service in the coming year. He wants to provide students exploring volunteer work with some form of compensation and funding. As a Cal Corps Bonner Leader, Osmeña has experience in public service. He knows that stipends would encourage more volunteering, thus holding Berkeley to its standard as a sponsor of the common good.

 As a Greek, Osmeña knows firsthand the need for adequate Greek funding and representation at Cal. He sees the ASUC not as a bureaucracy of competing interests, but as a place where constituencies can be adequately represented. I promise you that, he will represent Cal Greeks quite well as a senator.

 But Osmeña does not seek only the votes of Greeks on campus. He would represent all students. He understands the need for more transparency in the academic system. He advocates the online course evaluations.  He also has experience in improving the system whereby students choose their classes. For example, Osmeña worked on the “Pick a Prof” program, which allows students to view grading breakdowns of certain professors. I could write numerous articles about Osmeña’s plans to make Cal more competitive and transparent.

 Osmeña’s qualifications go far beyond his three-point platform. He is a Cal in the Capital director — and an alumnus of its Washington summer program. In that capacity, he leads a weekly DeCal class, works with organizations in Berkeley and Washington, D.C., and frequently keeps in touch with alumni of the program. Last summer, he worked for Congressman Dana Rohrabacher in Washington. Needless to say, Osmeña has proven leadership and experience.

 This experience is not limited to national politics, however. He currently serves as deputy chief of staff to the Office of Academic Affairs. He helps place students on university committees, and advocates for students at the administrative level. He also sits on the Committee on Courses of Instruction, which selects the courses that will be taught in any given semester. Osmeña was the senior class president of his high school and he has the values that we at the California Patriot hold dear — public service, patriotism, common sense, and no-nonsense leadership.

            I support Christian Osmeña for the ASUC Senate because out of all the candidates Osmeña has the most to offer the student body of UC Berkeley. I strongly urge you to support him to make UC Berkeley a better place for Cal Greeks, a more competitive and academically transparent university, and an institution that lives up to its standard as a sponsor of student public service.

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