Last week the University of California Office of the President
issued guidelines to the student governments of the nine UCs
regarding the allocation of funding to student groups. UCLA’s
Undergraduate Students Association Council must follow these rules
and establish a “viewpoint neutral” fair funding
process for all student groups. Yet, UCOP should not stop there.
UCOP guidelines should apply similar procedures for the allocation
of all resources ““ specifically office space.
UCLA possesses over 700 student groups on campus, of which only
20 act as Officially Recognized Student Organizations. ORSOs,
organizations officially sponsored by the Center for Student
Programming, receive resources paid for by student fees collected
from the student body. ORSOs receive office space, access to campus
facilities, computers, telephones, a free e-mail account, Web
hosting and, of course, monetary funds. Groups classified as ORSOs
include the Asian Pacific Coalition, African Student Union and
Jewish Student Union, to name a few.
CSP classifies the remaining student organizations as
independently recognized student groups. While CSP recognizes these
groups as a vital part of campus life, they do not receive the
amount or type of resources ORSOs receive. At most, these groups
receive a free e-mail account, Web hosting and the ability to
reserve campus rooms for meetings and events. Groups classified as
independently recognized organizations include the Bruin Democrats,
Bruin Republicans and Campus Crusade for Christ.
Under current procedures, ORSOs share office space in Kerckhoff
Hall with members and affiliates of USAC. When I ran for Academic
Affairs commissioner last year, I discovered the offices had not
undergone reallocation in almost 25 years. Officers and group
leaders remain scattered throughout the third and fourth floors of
Kerckhoff, with absolutely no logical order.
Currently, all student groups and USAC members, with the
exception of the USAC president’s office, share office space.
Members of USAC currently occupy different floors, making it
difficult for offices to coordinate their efforts. The
president’s office consists of two rooms that could easily be
divided to provide an extra office. Some student groups share
office space with groups that do not utilize their allocated space
to its full potential. For example, Asian Pacific Coalition shares
half an office with UCLA’s Judicial Board. J-Board, however,
rarely uses its office space, while the coalition remains stuffed
into its restricted area.
Even worse off, independent groups lack any place to call home.
Not only must they struggle to raise independent funding for their
efforts, they lack a central command post to operate from.
Independent student groups rely on member resources in order to
function. They remain without a central phone and answering machine
system to take calls, or a computer to create documents, keep
accounts, develop Web sites, or e-mail members; they also lack an
area for leaders to hold office hours or store supplies and
materials. These groups sometimes struggle to survive, drifting
through campus like homeless nomads. Groups sometimes seek
sanctuary on Bruin Walk, where they can struggle for attention
among the endless tables and sea of people passing out fliers.
Many independently recognized student groups have the ability to
improve campus life, but cannot reach their full potential because
of their struggle to operate ““ all due to inadequate
resources. For example, an office shared between groups such as
Bruin Democrats and Bruin Republicans may prove to be beneficial
““ not to mention it would provide for educational, if not
entertaining, discourse among members. Together, these groups could
coordinate efforts to register students to vote, bring politicians
and administrators to campus, and organize social events. Yet,
these groups remain locked out ““ literally.
Even more disturbing is that little has changed since the recent
opening of the Student Activities Center, which touts space for
student groups. The office space in the Student Activities Center
and Kerckhoff Hall, and the resources that come with those spaces,
must be reallocated in a way that makes sense.
The USAC Facilities commissioner is responsible for working with
student groups and student leaders to identify problems with the
allotment and location of offices and equipment. USAC as a whole is
responsible for funding groups and allocating all resources in a
fair manner. The officers of USAC and its committees should
reevaluate the status quo and make needed changes.
Paganini is a third-year geography and political science
student. She was a candidate on the United Independents slate
during the 2003 USAC election. E-mail her at
cpaganini@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to
viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.