Funding of student groups needs reform
It’s a relatively well-kept secret that student fees distributed by the Undergraduate Student Association Council, can be used to give honorariums to current and former students.
This loophole has been abused by USAC and student groups for years, but today, USAC will be voting to close this loophole to prevent such misuses of student fees.
Every year, over 100 student groups fill out a 30-page application for organizational funds such as office supplies and officer stipends, but only a fraction of those fill out the much shorter applications for our many programming funds.
Less than 20 groups per quarter apply to USA/BOD Programming, which routinely awards thousands of dollars for programs, but many more organizations apply to Contingency Programming, which rarely awards more than a few hundred dollars.
Furthermore, among those groups who receive funding, many don’t know how to access their money, or they receive far more than needed. This past year, over $250,000 went unspent.
Finally, there are the abuses enabled by loopholes where student fees are being spent in ways that they shouldn’t be.
During my time at UCLA, student fees have gone to exorbitant honorariums, cross-country law school visits, drunken ski trips, and more.
In the council room, USAC does not make flyers, reserve rooms on campus, or invite speakers. Rather, we spend a lot of time listening to presentations and discussing non-binding resolutions.
I believe that there are better ways for USAC to spend its time.
I believe that USAC is at fault for not paying sufficient attention to fixing how it funds UCLA’s more than 800 student organizations.
I also believe that USAC should be paying more attention to the way its funds may be irresponsibly spent. Allocating $2.5 million of undergraduate student fees is a serious responsibility that USAC must not take lightly. Real reforms are long past due.
This quarter, USAC has been working hard to ensure that your student fees are not misspent through loopholes such as improper honorariums.
While bylaw changes might not sound exciting, USAC is working to make sure that your student fees go farther toward enriching our campus and the UCLA experience.
Nat Schuster
USAC Academic Affairs commissioner
Fourth-year, neuroscience
FDA-approved diet pill is necessary evil
While I agree that good nutrition and dieting are the best ways to lose weight, and I do not, in any way, condone “magic pill” solutions, I believe that the FDA was operating in the best interest of the American public by approving alli.
While public health education remains weak, the fact remains that people will go looking for easy solutions, regardless of whether any are approved by the FDA or not.
By identifying a relatively safe product, the FDA is effectively diverting consumers away from this diet pill’s more health-hazardous counterparts on the market.
Indeed, until better systems for health education are in place, this is all the FDA can do to protect the public.
Jennifer Blackwell
Graduate student,
mechanical engineering