GSA repeats initiative to raise fees
Referendum rules require 10 percent voter participation
By Betty Song
This year, two old initiatives reappear on the 1995 Graduate
Student Association (GSA) ballot along with a new one.
In addition to a $1 fee referendum and a money pledge to the
California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), this year’s
ballot also includes an initiative for a new Public Policy and
Social Research council in the GSA forum.
Last year, the Graduate Students Association election ballot
favored a 75 cent membership fee increase. Although the measure
garnered a clear majority of the votes, officers wouldn’t have
minded if 100 more voters rejected the initiative.
Sound confusing? It isn’t when rules dictate that an initiative
needs at least 10 percent of the voter population to cast their
ballots in order to be implemented. Although the measure won, last
year’s nine percent turnout rendered it ineffective.
However, having about 100 more votes would have broken the 10
percent mark and still given the fee increase initiative a
majority.
This year, an item to increase membership fees is back on the
ballot, along with two other initiatives. It proposes to tack on $1
to the fee, raising it to $6.50. Decreased graduate enrollment,
inflation, higher staff costs and less money from the Associated
Students of UCLA are some reasons the increase is needed, said
current graduate association President Tim Beasley.
The graduate newsletter, election funds and some sponsoring may
fall to financial hardships if the increase is not approved,
graduate student officers said.
The current fee has remained steady for the last six years,
reflecting only a minor increase within the past 10 years, said
Peary Brug, who has been affiliated with GSA for five years in
various cabinet offices and other posts.
GSA has received only $33,333 from the student union in the past
two years in contrast to $150,000 four years ago. The proposed $1
increase would benefit everyone, Brug maintained.
"It’s not an outlandish amount," added Brug, who is now a
graduate student representative to the students’ association board
of directors. "Everyone will benefit because more money will help
for services like a better newsletter and there will be more money
to different councils."
If the initiative passes, 50 cents of each student’s dollar will
go to the GSA office, while the other half goes to their council.
Each of the eleven graduate student councils  which represent
groupings of related academic departments  now receives $2 of
their students’ membership fees. The initiative would raise that
figure to $2.50.
Another ballot initiative asks that a new council of Public
Policy and Social Research be added. The item emerged from the need
to restructure the GSA hierarchy to reflect the administration’s
restructuring efforts last year.
Out of the administration’s Professional School Restructuring
Initiative which reorganized professional schools and programs to
save money, a new school of Public Policy and Social Research was
created. The departments of Urban Planning and Social Welfare were
placed under this school while a new department known as Policy
Studies will begin in the fall of 1996.
However, Urban Planning is currently under the Fine Arts Council
while Social Welfare is in the Social Sciences Council. The
initiative would allow all three departments to exist under one
council.
"It makes things easier because the lines of communication are
better (between related departments in one council)" said Geoffrey
Gerdes, social sciences council president. "That social welfare
sees itself as more a part of the other group makes sense. The
problem with social welfare in the social sciences council is that
we haven’t been able to contact them (easily)."
In addition to the fee increase item, the graduate ballot also
finds a repeat visit from the California Public Interest Research
Group initiative which calls for a voluntary quarterly fee of $5 to
support the environmental and consumer research group. Although
this passed with the undergraduates last year, it lost with
slightly less than 40 percent of the graduate vote.
Unlike last year’s mailing of ballots, graduate students will
vote for the initiatives along with the three cabinet positions
 President, Vice President Internal and Vice President
External  on campus Tuesday and Wednesday. Absentee ballots
are now available in the GSA office at 301 Kerckhoff Hall.