 Tilahun Giza expressed a strong dislike for the royal house.In 1968 he narrowly lost the election for the presidency of the Union of Students of the University of Addis Ababa (USUAA) to Mekonnen Bishaw.The contest was perceived as a struggle between radicalism/commitment to the Ethiopian masses, represented by Tilahun Gizaw and reactionary reformism, represented by Mekonnen.