ASUCD vice presidential candidate Akhila Kandaswamy and running mate, Kyle Krueger, respond to accusations that Kandaswamy unfairly targeted Greek life
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To the Editor:
Re “ASUCD vice presidential candiate’s attack on Greek life is unjustified” by anonymous members of the Greek community (guest opinion, Feb. 17):
Hi, everyone! We would like to begin by stating that the allegations made in the article “ASUCD vice presidential candidate’s attack on Greek Life is unjustified” are false.
The comment that I, Akhila, actually made was on collaborating with Greek life to implement a campus-wide policy. I, Akhila, proposed to have a sober safety patrol officer who is a member of Greek life themselves present at parties, not a police officer. A fraternity brother as a sober safety patrol officer is already standard practice under the UC Davis IFC (Interfraternity Council). This is also a widely used and accepted practice in universities across the U.S. We are genuinely interested in using research methods and other resources to assist the Greek community in making the UC Davis campus safer. Other individuals can confirm that this is the platform point that we have been publicly advocating for, rather than what was alleged in the article.
We support lively, open discourse and debate on difficult topics such as sexual assault awareness and advocacy. We value hearing from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. But “ASUCD vice presidential candidate’s attack on Greek life is unjustified” was not interested in this constructive debate. We were never contacted directly about the claims made in this article, and the alleged comments attributed to us are slanderous, untrue and, frankly, unacceptable.
You may still disagree with us in some ways, and we look forward to learning from a wide variety of perspectives as we identify how to best end sexual assault on campus. But we think you deserve to know the truth regarding what was said.
Our slogan is “problem solving, not politics.” We came up with this slogan because we idealistically dreamed of a straightforward, positive campaign without slander or misinformation. And we still hope that it’s policy, not politics, that will matter most at the end of the day. Please reach out to us if you have any questions: krueger.kandaswamy4president@gmail.com.
Written by: Akhila Kandaswamy and Kyle Krueger
Akhila Kandaswamy and Kyle Krueger are running together for ASUCD vice president and president.
