BEST

BEST was an ASUCD slate that served to get the most qualified student leaders behind the Senate table to make the UC Davis undergraduate experience a better one during the Winter 2013 ASUCD Elections. Student leadership already exists at many levels on campus, and BEST recruited from the leadership of established clubs to ensure that the people running for senate office are able to make the most of the one-year term. The acronym BEST stands for "Better Empowering Students Today".

Though BEST had proven leaders and significant talent, the slate was ultimately unsuccessful, only electing co-founder Miles Thomas to the Senate.

In the wake of its dissolution, ASUCD returned to a two-party system. Most of BEST's candidates and founders supported first-place winner Gareth Smythe in the Fall 2013 ASUCD Election. The founders, however, were at odds with each other in the following election: co-founder Liam Burke went on to serve as campaign manager for the Ryan Wonders NOW executive ticket during the Winter 2014 ASUCD Election, while co-founder Maxwell Kappes ran as an Independent alongside SMART Presidential candidate (and eventual winner) Armando Figueroa. Kappes' campaign was supported by candidate Marissa Ayala, who became a member, and later chairperson of the Environmental Policy and Planning Commission following her bid for Senate. Co-founder Miles Thomas would go on to support mostly SMART candidates in the same election as well as his friends Armando and Max in the same election, but prioritized the campaign to Save the Aggie.

Mission

BEST is all about independently-minded student leaders who want to make a positive impact on ASUCD. Individuals involved with BEST will make real change in the way ASUCD governs and a real change on the environment. We do not subscribe to the group-think of other slates; rather, BEST serves to find a diversity of opinions from around campus to reach greater representation.

Winter 2013 ASUCD Election

* Marissa Ayala  * Bryce Fick * Evan Rothstein * Miles Thomas