As the representative body of the students at UCLA, the
undergraduate student government is often called upon to take a
stance on issues ranging from gay marriage to budget cuts.
In the past, councils at various universities have also
expressed opinions on ballot propositions and some have used
university fees to publicize their position.
But this year, in light of recent revisions to guidelines laid
out by the University of California Office of the President, the
Undergraduate Students Association Council will face certain
restrictions on how far they can publicize their opinions on the
2004 election.
“Student government can take a position and inform, but
they cannot spend mandatory fees in support of a proposition or
candidate,” said Jerry Mann, student support services and
student union director for the Associated Students of UCLA.
There is a thin line between what USAC can and cannot do in
terms of expressing support for political propositions, and some
councilmembers say they are not entirely clear on where that line
falls.
One issue which has been debated during the past year has to do
with how USAC can use mandatory student fees.
“There’s a big difference between using a fee and
taking a position,” Mann said, explaining that council can
take a position but cannot use university funds to publicize this
position.
Another key issue is that the student government is considered a
unit of the university and is subject to various constraints on
what it can do, Mann said.
“So much of this is driven by legal requirements,”
said Clint Haden, director of students affairs and services for
UCOP.
The council, which is considered a state entity, is prohibited
under state law from engaging in promotional activities in either
support or opposition to a proposition on the ballot.
To remain in line with this state law, council cannot actively
participate in any campaign.
Further, in any position that council takes, it must be clear
that that opinion is representative only of the opinions of USAC
councilmembers.
“(The law) does not prohibit them from taking specific
positions … as long as that does not communicate that that is
representative of a position that the university would take,”
Mann said.
One distinction is that USAC can present an opinion on a given
proposition but cannot explicitly tell students how to vote, said
Allende Palma/Saracho, president of USAC.
“We can state our opinion on a proposition … (but we)
can’t encourage students to vote a certain way,”
Palma/Saracho said.
He further clarified the distinction, saying “everything
has to be framed more as an educational activity,”
Palma/Saracho added.
Though USAC has taken public stands on propositions in the past,
he does not anticipate council doing so this year.
Still, some believe it is the right and duty of university
student governments to take firm stances on propositions,
particularly when they pertain directly to educational issues.
“I personally feel that it’s a student
government’s duty to advocate on behalf of the students. I do
feel that they have the right to do it,” said Misha
Leybovich, president of the student government at UC Berkeley.
Leybovich clarified his statement, saying he thought student
government should take a stance on propositions that directly
affect the student body but not necessarily on others.
“It’s ultimately going to come down to a
case-by-case basis,” he said.
But it can also be problematic for USAC to take a stance on any
proposition because it is nearly impossible for one opinion to
represent the whole of the student body.
“It’s kind of difficult for them to be actively
partisan,” Mann said.
Alex Gruenberg, financial supports commissioner for USAC, said
he believes council should refrain from taking a position on
political propositions in almost all cases.
“It’s only representative of a certain part of
campus and creates a divisive atmosphere,” he said.
The clarification regarding what council can do in terms of
propositions is a part of a larger effort by UCOP to update their
guidelines and make sure they are in line with recent Supreme Court
decisions about how councils can use mandatory student fees.
The revision comes after an election year in which the student
council at Berkeley came under fire for spending university fees to
campaign against Proposition 54, which would have prohibited the
collecting and maintaining of most race-based data in the
state.
“The student government leaders last year wanted to take a
stand against Proposition 54. They used $35,000 in student fee
money to do so,” Leybovich explained.
Under the new guidelines, student councils across the UC system
are prohibited from this type of expenditure.
But this might not be entirely clear to all councilmembers.
“It’s pretty unclear still what the rules actually
are,” Leybovich said.