Student groups gave feedback at a meeting on Thursday about the possible changes regarding the process for allocating office space to student groups.
The meeting was led by Undergraduate Students Association President Gabe Rose and Office Space Allocation Committee chair Neilda Pacquing in order to give student groups a chance to express any concerns they had with USAC’s proposed changes.
“We really want to hear everyone’s perspectives,” Rose said.
These changes, which Rose said will most likely be put to a vote by the council in the coming weeks, would require groups to share offices with two or three other groups and would allow an additional 10 or 11 groups to be housed in Kerckhoff Hall, raising the total number from 16 to around 27.
The requirements for groups to apply for lockers and mailboxes may also be lessened, and there may be a system of audits to see how groups are utilizing their office space and ensure that all allocations are upheld.
It was only last year that the office space allocation process was implemented, giving more groups the opportunity to apply for space which had previously been held by the same 18 groups for about 20 years.
Under the new process, there are five offices randomly selected each year for review, and the student groups in those offices must apply, along with any other eligible students, for this space. Those groups who receive office space will be able to remain there for about two or three years.
For this reason, these changes offer a chance to work out any problems in the system, such as reevaluating the guidelines and giving space to even more groups, Rose said.
The student groups were able to voice concerns that those in charge of the allocations might not have considered, such as enforcement of the allocations, said Vikram Balakrishnan, under-secretary general of finance for Model United Nations.
MUN is receiving office space for the first time this year, but Balakrishnan said they have not been able to move in yet because the groups currently sharing that office space have not yet made room available. He suggested that some method of enforcement, such as implementing a fixed move-out date, would be helpful.
Balakrishnan said he does not want to point fingers at his new officemates, but instead he believes the problem is those groups who historically held the space must grow accustomed to the new process.
“Clubs who have political pull … they feel like they’re losing something. I think they’re having trouble coming to terms with that,” he said.
Another issue was that of “safe space,” which is the desire of certain groups, such as Queer Alliance, to have their own office space in order to offer privacy and comfort to students who may have difficulty finding these circumstances elsewhere.
Part of the proposed change was giving Queer Alliance their own office, albeit one much smaller than that which they currently use.
While those student leaders present seemed to understand the Queer Alliance’s need for safe space, they believe this should be taken into consideration during the application process instead of allocating space ahead of time.
“I think that it should be considered in the application … and it will be a very strong part of it, but it won’t be set aside in advance,” said Bruin Democrats publicity director Taylor Kayatta.