The UCLA administration is currently reviewing a policy change
that would modify the registration process for student groups and
may put the university in concordance with Supreme Court rulings
made on the issue.
The current Undergraduate Students Association Council
guidelines only allow officially recognized student organizations
to apply for funding from the undergraduate student government.
Groups that are political and religious in nature are categorized
as independent and cannot receive funding.
During winter quarter, USAC was informed by administrative
representative Rick Tuttle that this practice is in violation of
University of California regulations, which require funds be
allocated to student groups on a viewpoint-neutral basis.
Since then, council has been working with the administration to
institute a funding system that will put USAC in compliance with UC
policy.
Council and the administration have come to the conclusion that
a change needs to be made to university policy, not USAC bylaws,
said Matt Kaczmarek, external vice president.
A push for a USAC bylaw change was made throughout the year by
General Representative Josh Lawson, but was opposed by most
councilmembers.
“They have acknowledged that the problem of funding groups
is a structural one that (the Center for Student Programming) has
to deal with,” said President Anica McKesey.
At this point, the most viable solution seems to be to change
the registration process for student groups, allowing all groups to
apply to be officially recognized and subsequently be eligible for
funding, McKesey said.
For student groups to be officially recognized, they are
required to have a faculty sponsor, three signatories, a
constitution, a non-discrimination policy and registration with the
Center for Student Programming.
Earlier this quarter, council presented a proposal to the
administration that all student groups should be eligible for
official status as long as they meet this criteria, Kaczmarek
said.
The proposal was drafted with the input of several
councilmembers as well as various student groups, said McKesey.
But changing the registration process for student groups will
not successfully solve the problem, because certain groups may not
be able to aptly meet the criteria for becoming officially
recognized, said Lawson.
“It will be hard for certain organizations to find
sponsorship. … It’s blatantly not going to implement a
system of viewpoint neutrality,” Lawson said.
Though it may be difficult for some organizations to receive
official recognition, Kaczmarek said he believes most groups will
be able to meet the criteria, and independent organizations may be
too big of a liability for USAC.
Kaczmarek is optimistic that the administration will agree to
the proposal and that the modification will put USAC in concordance
with UC policy.
“My understanding is that come fall (quarter), the
university will change the policy so that independents can apply to
become officially recognized student organizations,”
Kaczmarek said.
The administration is currently in the process of discussing the
proposal to determine if it is sufficient to ensure USAC is no
longer in violation of university regulations, said Dean of
Students Robert Naples.
“When we talked to (the UC Office of the President) they
raised a number of issues. … This seems like a good thing from
the way I understand it,” Naples said, adding that he is not
sure a modification to the registration process would solve every
problem completely.
In the next few weeks, the administration will meet with
councilmembers to discuss the proposal and plan to have a solid
solution by the end of the quarter.
McKesey and Kaczmarek have both said they believe the
registration process will be changed for the next academic
year.