In a rare event, presidents of student governments in the
University of California system gathered at a summit Friday to
discuss ways to improve cooperation between campuses.
The purpose of the summit was not to make decisions but to
promote the exchange of ideas, according to Hanish Rathod,
president-elect of the UCLA Graduate Student Association.
Rathod, who organized the summit, said discussions would help
each campus work more effectively “without having to reinvent
the wheel every time there’s a problem.”
Discussions during the summit centered on the theme of
collaboration. The presidents also talked about pressing issues on
their respective campuses.
One of the concerns brought up by the presidents during the
summit was the issue of maintaining contact with their
constituents.
It is important to provide students with an opportunity to sit
down and talk with officers, Rathod said. Officers would then be
able to focus on tackling issues most vital to students and thereby
maximizing chances for success, he added.
Edward Collins, outgoing president of UC Santa Barbara GSA, said
his association has been successful in trying to promote this
interaction by starting the bagel hour program.
The weekly event draws a large number of students from different
departments at UCSB, giving them a chance to intermingle and talk
with their officers, he said.
Aside from discussing internal issues on each campus, the
presidents also brainstormed ways to work more effectively among
themselves.
Rathod said presidents often have to work on too many things at
the same time, making it nearly impossible to gain a comprehensive
knowledge of all issues.
He also said efforts to address issues would be more effective
if the work was divided among the campuses. Each campus could
concentrate on one issue and update the other campuses frequently,
he said.
With the union of academic student employees bargaining on each
campus for next year’s contract, the presidents discussed
ways that the union ““ Student Association of Graduate
Employees/United Auto Workers ““ could maximize benefits for
its members.
There were questions on whether students would directly benefit
from some of the union’s actions, such as its current
proposal to have the university terminate employment of members who
do not attend a certain number of union meetings.
Rathod said requiring attendance would benefit students by
making them more aware of their rights. Having students become more
involved, he said, would strengthen the union “but the
question is if the strength is really valid if it comes from
force.”
“We are pro-union, but we just want to make sure that
students are not receiving secondary benefits from the
union’s efforts,” said Matt Andrews, the
president-elect of UCSB GSA.
Though the summit was marked by a few last-minute absences,
Rathod said it was successful in encouraging discussions and
developing strategies to address issues with which different
campuses were concerned.
He added that he is planning to organize another summit in
August before the UC Student Association holds its congress. That
way, he said, the presidents can discuss possible items to be
placed on the association’s action agenda for next school
year.