Student groups appeared before the Undergraduate Students Association Council on Tuesday night in opposition to the Office Space Allocation Committee’s recommendation to remove them from their offices.
The groups, which included Rasa, Chicanos for Community Medicine, Iraninan Student Association and Afrikan Union, were left off the committee’s recommendation for room assignments next year after failing to submit the necessary applications by the Feb. 19 deadline.
Despite the insistence of the committee that all necessary protocol was taken to notify the groups of the application process, including ads on Facebook and in the Daily Bruin, and e-mail alerts to advertise the impending deadline, the groups contended that they failed to receive the necessary communication to meet the deadline.
“There was a technical difficulty that resulted in us not getting an e-mail for us to renew our office,” said Lizbeth Bayardo, a member of Chicanos Latinos for Community Medicine. “A technical glitch should not jeopardize a group that has had such a significant historical presence at UCLA.”
Though almost all council members agreed that it seemed an error had occurred that was neither the fault of the student groups nor the committee, they disagreed on the next steps to take.
Bruins United General Representatives Natalie Gonzalez and Monica Kohles said council should follow the recommendations of the committee, a nonpartisan body, to avoid meddling in the allocation process and setting a dangerous precedent for possible USAC collusion in the future.
“I think what’s most important is that we should view the committee’s process as a nonpartisan and fair effort,” Gonzalez said. “By trying to change the allocations, it discounts the service by the committee.”
Meanwhile, affiliates of the Students First! slate argued that because the miscommunication between the committee and the groups seems to be an unintentional error, no one should be penalized for this, and USAC should step in to try and remedy the situation. They instead suggested that the committee’s procedure was broken.
“There’s a whole history of a lack of communication with the OSAC process,” said Academic Affairs Commissioner Jeremiah Garcia. “There is substantial proof that these groups (had) not known of the situation.”
The groups present at the meeting were all supporters of the Students First! slate in the recent USAC elections, so there were warnings against favoritism. But the slate argued that it wanted to work to revise the allocations not to reward supporters but to fix an error in the process.
Until two years ago, rooms were reserved for a number of “student advocacy groups” selected by USAC.
The guidelines for the allocation of office space were formulated in February 2006, reestablishing the committee and creating an application process open to all student groups that met criteria.
But since its inception, the process has been fraught with controversy.
The controversy dates back to last council, when members of Students First! alleged that Bruins United held secret meetings with the committee, though the case was later withdrawn and the allegations dropped.
The council decided more deliberation was necessary and agreed to table the issue until the next meeting.