EDITORIAL BOARD Christine Byrd
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Michael Litschi
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Throughout the year, childish bickering, walk-outs and personal
attacks have characterized USAC meetings. And the administration,
rather than helping provide direction and focus, is pressuring them
to make premature decisions.
Most of the recent ordeal has centered on the issue of funding
student groups. Using Supreme Court cases such as University of
Wisconsin v. Southworth along with University of California
guidelines, both administrative representative Lyle Timmerman and
USAC President Elizabeth Houston brought USAC funding procedures
into question beginning this summer. Timmerman has given the
council until tonight to amend USAC Bylaws to ensure funding is
content-neutral. If the changes are not made, he threatens to
freeze funding to all student advocacy groups.
Timmerman says the “blame” is on the administration
for requiring that action be taken, but his boss Assistant Vice
Chancellor Bob Naples, said Monday he has left the decision to
Timmerman, whom he supports.
Regardless, it’s completely ridiculous that council is
being required to resolve this issue in the first place. Neither
the UC Office of the President nor the UC Regents have defined what
the content-neutrality required by Southworth entails nor outlined
a process for the UC to carry this out. In fact, the Southworth
case hasn’t even been completely resolved. This is the
obvious reason why other UC campuses have not taken similar
steps.
Although the UCOP’s 1999 guidelines require that funding
is not related to approval or disapproval of the content or
viewpoint expressed, the specifics of these guidelines might change
when implications of Southworth are considered. We may soon have a
draft of UCOP guidelines that account for the implications of the
Southworth case, so why the rush to comply with the 1999
guidelines?
USAC is acting without any legal expertise to solve a problem
that the courts have not even settled decisively.
This is shocking since tonight’s decision could paralyze
the SAGs. If the amendment doesn’t pass ““ and it
shouldn’t ““ and Timmerman freezes the funds, student
organizations would not get money for cultural programs, outreach
or student retention. Campus Events Commission and the Community
Service Commission, which, unlike SAGS, are part of USA, would even
be adversely affected.
Because USAC’s primary function is to allocate funds,
freezing them would essentially paralyze the council as well.
Though some council members have opposed Timmerman and Houston,
their approach to the issue has been childish. USAC has had too
many meetings ““ ad hoc or full council ““ where members
argue with Houston or walk out. Allowing their differences to hurt
thousands of students on campus is unacceptable. This approach to
the conflict is counterproductive and unprofessional, but
it’s exactly what both sides have done all year.
Unfortunately, instead of filing a formal appeal, USAC members
waited until the last minute and asked Chancellor Carnesale to
intervene. But, in a characteristic act of divisiveness, council
members sent two separate and opposing letters to Carnesale.
It’s sad that anyone should be appealing to the
chancellor, or to feel that such a measure must be taken. A mature
council, that worked together instead of apart, and administrators
that made reasonable requests of the council, would be able to
resolve this on their own.
If Timmerman does proceed to freeze SAG funding, we ask the
Chancellor to step in and reverse the action. While the courts, the
UCOP and other UC campuses are still figuring things out, students
should not be punished.
We also ask that all members of USAC promote a productive
atmosphere by stopping council members from resorting to personal
attacks when trying to solve problems ““ after all, we are in
a university, not an elementary school sandbox. If things go as
expected tonight, it’s a lose-lose situation for the council
and students. Prematurely changing bylaws without more recent
guidelines from UCOP could cause more harm than good. But freezing
funds for student groups will be detrimental to many students and
their programs and leave the rest of campus wondering what good
their student fees do sitting in the bank.
Students should hold their elected officials accountable and
show up at tonight’s meeting and support the activities that
are such a vital part of the UCLA community.
The USAC meeting is at 7 p.m. in Kerckhoff Hall 417.