Thursday, January 9, 1997
USAC:
Council overrules court’s finding that student fees were used
illegally for political purposesBy Ryan Ozimek
Daily Bruin Staff
Just when undergraduate government members believed that the
recent Ellis vs. Undergraduate Student Association Council (USAC)
case was finally decided, the rollercoaster ride seems far from
over.
The Judicial Board (J-Board) case, although formally decided by
the board and overruled by Council, is still brewing in
controversy.
Broken down into two parts, the case against USAC involved both
the Council’s involvement in the anti-Proposition 209 campaign and
the use of the "Students First!" logo on official USAC
documents.
Although the board "remained divided" as to whether or not the
association violated the Preamble of their own constitution, it
wrote in its final decision that it did believe USAC misused
compulsory student fees in both the anti-Prop. 209 campaign and in
using the "Students First!" logo.
The board quoted a section from the University of California
Policy Applying to Student Governments regarding the use of student
fees for political issues in their decision.
"Compulsory student government fees shall not be used to support
political, ideological, or religious organizations or activities
including, but not limited to, lobbying of public agencies or
officials," the policy reads.
"California Proposition 209 is political," the J-Board’s final
decision said. "Therefore, the USAC’s use of compulsory student
government fees violates this University provision."
In regards to the second half of the petition and the use of
compulsory student fees to pay for the "Students First!" logos, the
court found that USAC violated the same UC policy.
"Campaign literature, saturated with the ‘Students First!’ logo,
along with the seemingly universal use of ‘Students First!’ as a
political ‘battle cry’ … compelled the Board to find ‘Students
First!’ as a political slate," reads the court’s final
decision.
Although the court officially recognized the logo as political,
the board wrote that it believed that "Students First!" could
possibly be considered both a political slate and an ideology or
philosophy.
Had the J-Board’s decision not been overruled, USAC would have
been forced to publish two quarter-page advertisements in the Daily
Bruin regarding a policy called the Compulsory Fee Refund
Process.
The process allows students to receive a refund for their
portion of compulsory fees used by a university group whose
political beliefs differ with their own.
Although USAC overruled the J-Board ruling, students can still
ask for their share of fees back for their use during the USAC
anti-Prop. 209 campaign, regardless.
"A student’s right to get a Smith Refund is entirely separate
from the J-Board’s decision," said Associated Students Union
Director Jerry Mann.
Mann added that it was very likely that a refund would be given
to students who applied specifically citing the anti-Prop. 209
campaign.
Though the J-Board did rule against USAC, it didn’t have the
final say in the case.
USAC, by overruling the J-Board’s decision, effectively found
itself not guilty of charges brought against it. In doing so, the
demands of the court to stop using the "Students First!" logo in
connection with the Council is null and void.
Rules regarding the use of compulsory student funds for
political purposes will also not change.
Although the issue seemed dead just days ago, the overruling of
the J-Board decision may rear its head again in the near
future.
Jeff Ellis, a fourth-year philosophy and political science
student and the petitioner in the Ellis vs. USAC case has discussed
future council actions with USAC Internal Vice President Glenn
Inanaga.
The two discussed the possibility of Inanaga asking the USAC
officers to voluntarily stop using the "Students First!" logo in
their various activities and stationary, but the agreement is still
in the working stages.
In a more bureaucratic approach, Ellis filed a petition against
USAC Wednesday focusing on the procedure the Council followed in
the overruling of the J-Board decision.
"(USAC) throwing out the (Ellis vs. USAC case) was done in a way
inconsistent with the Undergraduate Students Association
Constitution, and needs to be brought to the attention of the
Judicial Board," Ellis said Wednesday.
J-Board Chief Justice Eric Mah said that the board would convene
as soon as possible to discuss the petition and that a preliminary
hearing may take place by the end of this week.
"I expect that this matter, like any other petition, will be
dealt with in the most expedient way possible," Mah said.