Their demands seem simple: accessibility, accountability and
quality.
But with the statewide budget crisis and lack of access to their
governing board, University of California students may find
themselves hard pressed to have their concerns heard.
The last time the UC Board of Regents met at UCLA was over a
year and a half ago in May 2002. Since then the regents have been
meeting consistently at UC San Francisco, a university with no
undergraduate students.
“(UCSF) is a convenient facility that’s set up for
the kinds of meetings the regents have and the kinds of security
considerations that have to be implemented for such
meetings,” said Trey Davis, a spokesman for the UC Office of
the President.
The regents themselves do not decide the location of their
meetings. That decision is made by the office of the president, the
regents secretary, UC President Robert Dynes and UC Chairman John
Moores.
Davis added that the meetings were also held at UCSF because of
expenses incurred from flying UCOP employees and regents from their
Oakland office to Southern California, though he did not have any
information on the cost of transporting employees.
But today the regents are back at UCLA, the only time they are
scheduled to be in Southern California until at least 2005.
Students have expressed concern over the fact that the regents
meet at UCSF.
The Northern California location makes it difficult for Southern
California students to attend the meetings. Student leaders said
there is a lack of public transportation access with no bus line or
Bay Area Rapid Transit nearby, making it difficult for many to
attend.
“That’s a problem. In terms of being accessible to
the California public population and the citizens they are
accountable to and the students who are their main constituents, it
is very difficult,” said Matt Kaczmarek, chairman of the UC
Students Association and the external vice president of the
Undergraduate Students Association Council.
It is very difficult for students to effectively voice their
opinions and it’s important for them to take advantage of
these opportunities, said Anu Joshi, EVP of the Associated Students
of UC Berkeley.
“(The regents) know students have a very specific role in
the process and very specific demands, and (students) are not
afraid to mobilize,” Joshi said.
It is more difficult for students to turn out en masse, however,
when the meetings are held at the UCSF campus. The meetings are
held at Laurel Heights, which is separate from where the
school’s graduate students take classes.
Some students believe the regents isolate themselves on
purpose.
“I don’t think (the regents) are accessible
whatsoever,” said Harish Nandagopal, external vice president
of the Associated Students of UC San Diego. “I think
it’s purposefully done so students have a harder time to come
to the meetings.”
Nandagopal said there will be 25 to 30 students representing
UCSD at the regents meeting today ““ students who likely would
not have come had the meeting been at UCSF.
“It would be really difficult to send a delegation of
students; it’s the middle of the week, students have papers
and finals coming up, and travelling eight or nine hours each way
would be nearly impossible,” he said.
Since 2000, regents meetings have rotated between UCLA and UCSF
with decreasing frequency, and all of the meetings for 2004 are
scheduled at UCSF. In the past the meetings switched regularly
between the campuses.
“There used to be a policy that the meetings rotated. …
But we had problems with security,” Montoya said. She added
she would like to have more meetings in Southern California.
During one meeting at UCLA in Covel Commons, officials grew
concerned over the sheer numbers of students packing the spiral
staircases in the building, Montoya said.
“We were literally worried about students falling and
hurting themselves,” she said. “Security is a real
issue and it’s a shame. The regents want to listen to the
students.”
The meeting this last May was moved from UCLA to UCSF for
security reasons. The regents were scheduled to vote on a fee
increase for students, and there were concerns over the large
number of students planning to protest.
The move made sense for cost and safety concerns, but was a way
for the regents to isolate themselves from the students, Kaczmarek
said.
The regents ultimately decided to delay the fee increase vote
until July, which made it more difficult for students to mobilize
in protest.
A protest is scheduled for today jointly with students from
other UC campuses to address the lack of accessibility.
There are supposed to be about 500 total student demonstrators,
mostly from UCLA, Kaczmarek said. Joshi said there will also be
about 100 students in attendance from the Berkeley campus.
Students will suggest the regents rotate between campuses to
make them more accessible, or that the meetings be held at UC
Berkeley to make it easier for students to attend.
Regents do visit various UC campuses to speak with students
three times a year in an attempt to make themselves more
accessible.
However, such meetings do not occur when the regents are
conducting business, and thus they are no replacement for
accessibility, Kaczmarek said.
“It’s important to make an issue out of it,”
Kaczmarek said.