UCLA hosts systemwide student summit
Students address regents, higher education issues
By Betty Song
Westwood may be far from higher education’s power seat in
Sacramento, but Bruins and other students alike will have a rare
opportunity to personally address the UC regents about such issues
as fee increases and affirmative action this weekend.
For the first time, the UC Student Association’s systemwide
Student Summit from April 7-9 will be held on the UCLA campus. The
student association, a coalition of UC student government
representatives, has traditionally held their annual conference in
the state’s capital.
However, there was no summit last year in the wake of confusion
over the controversial court case Smith v. Regents that prohibited
lobbying with mandatory student fees, said York Chang, UCLA
undergraduate external vice president.
"The student association had to regroup after Smith and they
didn’t have the energy or resources to have such a huge event,"
Chang said. "This year we wanted to re-evaluate student power
within the UC system, and we saw UCLA with its resources and
organizers as the best place to begin a new era of UCSA," said
Chang, explaining how UCLA won the bid to host the event.
The highlight of this year’s summit will be a systemwide Regents
Forum where students will give individual testimony on the current
situation of the UC as well as question the regents’ stand on such
issues as the elimination of affirmative action, said Glenn
Magpantay, executive director of the student association.
The forum sets the tone for the student association’s spring
quarter campaign to preserve student accessibility to the UC,
Magpantay said.
"Fee increases, the elimination of affirmative action, the
elimination of several financial aid programs and discrimination in
student housing all deal with access to the university," Magpantay
said.
"We feel strongly that the university is going backwards (on
these issues). We want to be able to paint these issues to the
regents and ask if they will support us," he added.
In addition to UC systemwide issues, the conference will also
address nationwide educational issues with keynote speaker
Congressman Xavier Becerra from California’s 30th congressional
district. Becerra plans to speak about the general state of
education and federal financial aid, said Dan Ryu, coordinator of
the summit.
Although the issues addressed during the summit concern the
student population in general, there are certain topics that will
interest graduate students in particular, according to Kevin
Welner, graduate external vice president. Issues include
professional school differential fees, new plans for graduate
enrollment and labor relations.
"It would be nice if people took advantage of (the summit) to
learn more about the issues," Welner said. "(For example) people
planning on being involved in Academic Senate, the graduate student
association, and SAGE (the student association of graduate
employees)."
Not only will the conference inform students about issues
surrounding their education and give them a chance to voice their
concerns, the event will also allow them to collectively create a
plan of action for the future, summit coordinators said.
"The ultimate goal is for students to come out feeling empowered
and know that there are issues going on, but that we do have a lot
of support from the regents and state legislature," Ryu said. "But
we have to decide how we as students can work together for
education in general. I want there to be some sort of plan of what
we as students want to see done."
The student summit is free and open to the UCLA campus and all
events will be held in Ackerman Union. However, there is a
registration fee for other UC students and non-affiliates.
The systemwide Regents Forum will be held in the Ackerman Grand
Ballroom on Sunday beginning at noon.