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Minor parties grab MSA seats

With the Michigan Party still at the helm, the Michigan Student Assembly will make room for new faces and new parties at the table next term.

Along with the presidential and vice presidential offices, the Michigan Party won eight seats on the assembly. The Students' Party pulled in five seats, the Wolverine Party received four, and for the first time, the United Peoples' Coalition received two representatives and the Liberty Party received one seat. Two new independent representatives were also elected to the assembly.

"It shows that a relatively significant section of the student body believes that a certain perspective is important to have on MSA," said President Flint Wainess.

Rackham Rep. John Lopez, an independent assembly member re-elected in last week's election, said the new independents on the assembly will play "an influential, not necessarily a powerful role."

"The major parties are going to have to form coalitions to swing votes," Lopez said.

The United Peoples' Coalition, which ran an all-students-of-color slate, captured two seats, including one of the coveted LSA positions.

"With smaller parties and independents on board, hopefully we'll be able to reduce the partisanship on the assembly," said Beatrice Chen, a UPC member elected as a Medicine representative.

Chen said she and fellow party member Catherine Hong, who was elected as an LSA representative, plan to encourage the assembly to demand a fee cap for student tuition, a prominent plank in the UPC platform.

Although his presence may "liven things up a bit," the dynamics will not change because of the addition of a Liberty Party representative, said Rackham Representative-elect Douglas Friedman.

Formed in February, the Liberty Party is new to the MSA political game, but Friedman said his election shows there is "clearly some interest in alternatives."

The Michigan Party has a clear advantage in attracting students, said Anjali Rajpal, newly elected Michigan Party LSA representative. After losing a bid for election with the Students' Party last semester, Rajpal received the most votes of any candidate in last week's election.

"When I moved to the Michigan Party I just saw such a difference in the way things were run," Rajpal said. "The motivation and the people on it are just so amazing."

While the Michigan Party presidential win and the addition of outsiders to the assembly may have stolen some of the limelight, both the Students' and Wolverine parties retained and won assembly seats.

SNRE Rep. Karie Morgan said the dynamics of next term's assembly could help MSA focus more on issues and less on "parties and names." Morgan, a Students' Party member re-elected last week, said she plans to concentrate on reforming MSA's Budget Priorities Committee, a highlight of the Students' Party platform.

"The image of MSA is so fragile like that, having this crisis/non-crisis really hurts the image," Morgan said.