D’Artagnan Scorza, a UCLA undergraduate student, has been selected as the next University of California student regent and will begin attending meetings without voting July 1.
The student regent is responsible for representing students’ interests to the board, helps establish university policy and helps to oversee the university’s investments and properties.
Each student regent serves a two-year term. For his first year, Scorza will be the regent-designate, which means he cannot vote, but he said he plans to fully participate in the subcommittees and advocate for student issues while “learning and listening” at meetings.
During his second year on the board he will serve as a full voting member.
In addition to being the 2008-2009 student regent, Scorza, a fourth-year study of religion student, plans to enter the School of Education and Information Studies in the fall as a doctoral student in education.
Scorza said he is grateful for the opportunity to represent students’ opinions on the board, and looks forward to working on issues he thinks are important.
“(My goals are) primarily to serve the students across the system, widen and … broaden our voice on the board itself and to make sure our issues are being represented,” Scorza said.
He called graduate and professional school fees across the UC system “astronomical” and said he plans to bring up issues of fee increases for both undergraduate and graduate students to the board. Last March, the regents voted for a fee hike for the 2007-2008 school year, which called for a 7 to 10 percent increase.
Bill Shiebler, University of California Students Association president, said he is “extremely excited” that Scorza will be the student regent, noting Scorza’s history working with UCSA on a number of issues.
He said he remembers seeing Scorza attending UCSA conferences, being the spokesperson at the protests at the regents meetings and lobbying at the state capitol.
“He’s a familiar face and a friend of mine,” Shiebler said. “I’m glad the UC Regents selected a student that puts students first. … (He’ll) constantly be working to address the affordability crisis (and) solving the challenge of diversity.”
Scorza is currently the access coordinator for the Afrikan Student Union, and he said he will continue his work on increasing access to higher education to all students and trying to ensure that the UC student population reflects the state population.
Lucero Chavez, a fourth-year American literature and culture and Chicana and Chicano studies student, has worked with Scorza in different coalitions and said his interest in diversity goes “beyond race.”
She said she believes his previous experiences have prepared him for the student regent job.
“He’s used to working with different administrators. … (He has a) really good understanding of issues,” she said. “He’s already built strong relationships with some of the regents. … (He) will be able to be a really strong voice for students.”
A self-described “proud student activist,” Scorza said there are different ways for student leaders to make their voices heard to the regents.
While he said he understands that students protest because they believe their voices are not being heard, he added that “all it does is disrupt proceedings” and said he hopes to find other ways for students to express their concerns to the board.
“I will facilitate communication between regents and students,” Scorza said. “As a representative, I’m here to be accessible.”
Scorza plans to maintain strong connections with each UC campus, as well as the entire student body.
He said he also wants to focus on the future and how the UC system will adapt to the changing times.
“I want to address the California Master Plan of Higher Education and Tidal Wave II,” he said, referring to the state’s post-secondary education structure and the anticipated growth in university size.
Though Scorza is a UCLA student, he said his focus will be on the needs of students from all the UC campuses.
“It’s critical that I’m not just representing UCLA,” he said. “I’m going to look at issues from all campuses fairly and equally.”
He gave some examples of such issues, including efforts to create a student initiated outreach center at UC San Diego and new facilities at UC Berkeley. He also said he would keep student input and opinion in mind in regard to the UC-managed nuclear laboratories.
Scorza will be the 34th Student Regent and the 11th from UCLA, according to a press release.