The Associated Students of UCLA’s plan to upgrade services
in the student union has stalled after the undergraduate
government’s objections to several aspects of the
proposal.
The referendum, originally scheduled for a student vote during
fall quarter, proposed a $20 dollar increase in the annual student
union fee to cover the costs for planned improvements in student
services.
Programs such as increased Internet access and leadership
training are included in the Student Union Strategic Initiative, a
plan to create a more student-friendly environment in Ackerman
Union.
The Undergraduate Students Association Council objected to the
initiative on grounds that ASUCLA should be focusing more on
improving existing student-run services than on creating new
administrative-sponsored programs.
The council then submitted a document outlining its objections
and recommendations to the association. Because of the listed
concerns, the council said it felt the current initiative
“inadequately represents the interests and needs of the
24,000 undergraduate students at UCLA and as USAC, we must
therefore reject it.”
In one instance, the council recommended that the association
discontinue its “Lunch with the Professor” program,
which started late last year, and instead direct its support to
similar long-existing programs offered by the council
president’s office.
Matt Kaczmarek, external vice president of USAC, said the
council has expressed a strong and unanimous opinion against many
aspects of the current proposal, as outlined in their response.
Kaczmarek also added that the initiative was based on good
intentions, but questioned the extent to which ASUCLA should go in
controlling student-funded spaces designed for student-run
programs.
Though it has not yet released an official response to the
initiative, members of the Graduate Student Association had more or
less put a preliminary stamp on the document last year.
The initiative was developed through consultations with last
year’s GSA officers and was presented to forum delegates,
said GSA President Hanish Rathod.
Rathod also objected to the use of the word “student
governments” in USAC’s letter of response because in
some instances it implied that both governments share the same
view.
“We’re requesting that USAC repeal its formal
resolution and edit it to make sure that only its views are
reflected,” he added.
Dria Fearn, chairwoman of the services and enterprises committee
which oversees the initiative, said most of USAC’s concerns
were cleared up at a recent informal meeting between the
association and student governments.
“Mostly it was a misunderstanding issue. … I think USAC
now understands that we’re not trying to take over student
programming,” Fearn said.
She said the goal of the initiative was to provide for more
regularly occurring activities in the student union. Currently,
activities hosted by student groups tend to be held at other campus
locations like Royce Hall.
As a result of the informal meeting, ASUCLA decided to create a
conference committee for discussing issues of concern between the
parties, including developments of the initiative, Fearn said.
She added that USAC had been responding to an older version of
the initiative, which included proposals for some programs that no
longer existed in the newer version of the document.
Unlike GSA, USAC was not presented with the initiative last
year. It was an oversight on the part of the board of directors,
Fearn said, a mistake which will be rectified this year.
As the document again goes under review in the committee, Fearn
said she hopes to clarify the exact components of the planned
programs in the union.
ASUCLA Executive Director Patricia Eastman said though the board
hoped the referendum would run this year, she does not know whether
it is now feasible to do so. The document will continue to evolve
and improve in several more changes before a timetable can be set,
she said.
The delay in the release of the referendum would mean that,
aside from programs that have been partly implemented such as
“Lunch with the Professor,” the rest of the plan to
revamp Ackerman Union would have to wait until the funds can be
found.