In addition to student fees, undergraduates may have to pay an
extra $8 per quarter to help fund several service organizations if
a fee referendum passes this spring.
If the fee proposal, PULSE (Promoting Understanding and Learning
through Service and Education) garners enough support, it can
potentially be an item on the general election ballot voted on by
UCLA students later in spring quarter.
During Tuesday’s Undergraduate Students Association
Council meeting, Community Service Commissioner Crystal Lee led the
presentation of the proposed $8 fee referendum.
Lee stressed the urgency of the funding, saying the community
service organizations are compiling deficits and cannot find
sufficient means of funding since all projects are
student-initiated, student-run and student-funded.
“If (service) is outlined as one of the three pillars of
the school’s mission statement, then obviously it’s a
very important matter to the UCLA community,” Lee said.
The Community Service Commission office sponsors roughly 21
student group trips to provide tutoring, mentoring and other aid in
the greater L.A. area.
In the presentation, Lee used a pie graph to illustrate the
continuous deficit her office is experiencing.
During fall quarter, she used the same graph to ask USAC for
$10,000 to alleviate the financial burden on her office.
The largest funding demand of the CSC is in transportation, as
the sponsored groups need to be provided with transportation to the
sites of their service.
The vans currently used are all more than 10 years old and need
regular maintenance and gas, which costs about $220,000 yearly.
Lee’s office was not alone in asking for a share of the
proposed $8 fee addition.
Lee’s office was asking for $1.25 of the total $8.
Following Lee’s introduction, Karen Salazar,
representative from a 35-year-old service organization, the
Community Program Office, told the council $.50 of the $8.00 would
go to her program.
Salazar cited similar funding problems as Lee, since CPO
sponsors 29 projects for about 400 students. CPO’s focus is
primarily on allowing premed, prelaw and other preprofessional
students to volunteer in their respective field.
Another service organization, the Campus Retention Committee, is
requesting $1.75 of the fee. This committee has provided free
printing, counseling and mentoring for 15 years to an average of
1,500 UCLA students per year.
Claudia Salcero, representative from the committee, said the
cost of living has increased and their funding hasn’t, so
they are unable to provide their staff with sufficient wages.
The only service organization currently funded by student
government, the Student Initiated Outreach Committee, is asking for
$4.50. It was created in response to drastic drops in the admission
of underrepresented groups to help create access to education.
SIOC representative Diem Tran expressed an urgent need for the
funding, as the government recently cut the organization’s
allocated budget by 75 percent.
The four groups together leaned on the same problem- haunting
their various offices: a shortage of money causing a decrease in
community service projects, which could consequently lose their
functions altogether.
It has not yet been finalized whether the proposed fee
referendum will have an expiration date or become a permanent
mandatory fee for students.