Recently, a critical discussion has begun on the UCLA campus
surrounding a proposal to replace the commission-based structure of
the current Undergraduate Students Association Council with a
senate structure. In addition, the proposal suggests a drastic
change to our electoral voting process.
Until now, the majority of USAC has not shared its perspective,
but we believe that students deserve to know. With a council of 13
elected officials, many of whom now have several years of
experience working in USAC, we feel we must address what would be a
radical change.
Thus, we, the undersigned 11 representatives of the
Undergraduate Student Association, will highlight what we believe
are the inherent and undeniable strengths of the historic UCLA
commissioner-based system and the disadvantageous shortcomings of a
change to a senate structure.
While USAC respects Brian Neesby’s efforts to provide a
well-thought-out proposal, we recognize that his proposed senate
system is simply a detriment to the student government’s
ability to provide for the general welfare of students to the best
of our capacity.
Within the current commission-based council, each officer serves
a specialized purpose on campus. The commission-based government
covers and addresses a very thorough and comprehensive scope of
areas affecting student life, such as health and wellness, cultural
affairs, academic affairs, financial assistance and community
service.
The senate, on the other hand, would be a group of 20 talking
heads that focuses solely on policy and would not produce anything
of value. In essence, the purposeless senators would restrict the
advocacy and programming efforts of purposeful commissioners.
The senate structure also disempowers our student government
““ the body of people who actively work to advocate students
in issues like student fees, academic policies, programming
abilities and more.
In fact, within the senate system, commissions are relegated to
functioning as mere programmers, while sole advocacy power is given
to four executive officers and policy decisions are left up to
senators. Currently, commissioners are not only programmers, but
they are also researchers, advocates and policy-makers.
The proposed division of programming and the multitude of other
commissioner responsibilities seriously cripples USAC’s
ability to create positive change on behalf of the student
body.
Events like Welcome Week, Dance Marathon and Jazz/Reggae
Festival, as well as campaigns such as Get Out the Vote and the
fight against Expected Cumulative Progress, will be severely
undermined within the senate system because the experts in specific
fields ““ the commissioners ““ are demoted to mere
implementers.
Commissioners require voting powers because they are the most
informed on the fields they represent and are currently voted in by
thousands of students. Senators, on the other hand, would need only
5 percent of the student vote, would likely have little experience
and therefore would not be not qualified or accountable enough to
dictate budgetary and policy decisions.
At the end of the day, USAC’s purpose is to serve the
needs of the undergraduate student body to the best of its
capabilities. The largest check on student government is the same
thing each council must maximize ““ time.
Representatives for the limited course of one year are elected
and endowed with the trust, financial investment and power of
25,000 undergraduates who, because they are on a strict timeline
themselves, require the best and most immediate results
possible.
Students need their student government to work for them, and to
work for them in its most potent form. For over 40 years, the
commissioner-based structure has allowed the council to fulfill
that end in a profound way. The progress we have made ““ our
amount of advocacy, organizing, programming and policy development
on a yearly level ““ is renowned both at the state and
national level. In the words of the United States Students
Association upon awarding UCLA the high honor of being recognized
Campus of the Year, USAC is thanked for its “dedication to
furthering the student movement and ensuring that education is a
right.”
Through the specialization of our council structure, the
expertise of our legislators, the efficiency and representation
thereof, USAC is recognized today not as an example of good
governance, but as the model for success.
Any deviation now would only serve to hurt students by denying
them the right to a student government capable of realizing its
maximum potential in serving the student body.
Palma/Saracho is the USAC president. Wood is a USAC general
representative. External Vice President John Vu, General
Representatives Tommy Tseng and Anneli Villarin, Academic Affairs
Commissioner Eligio Martinez, Campus Events Commissioner Jason
Gaulton, Community Service Commissioner Crystal Lee, Cultural
Affairs Commissioner Shantanu Bhuiyan, Student Welfare Commissioner
Jason Avila and Finance Committee Chair Ma Raissa Corella all
support the opinions expressed above.