By Robert Salonga
DAILY BRUIN STAFF
[email protected]
The UC Board of Regents turns to the state for a substantial
amount of university funding, and the Legislature is known to
capitalize on this dependence to influence them.
Board members have cited the Latino caucus as the more vocal and
active legislators regarding the UC, especially in dealings with
increasing admission rates of underrepresented populations in the
state.
In the past year the regents passed two new admissions policies:
dual admissions and comprehensive review.
Because of influence from the Latino caucus, some regents claim
the policies were passed hastily in response.
“When we were making the decision about comprehensive
review, it was under an enormous amount of pressure (from the
Latino caucus),” said Student Regent Tracy Davis, who is in
her fifth year as an admissions coordinator at UCLA.
But any nudge was completely legitimate, caucus members
said.
“That’s advocacy and legislators have the right to
advocate on issues affecting a public university,” said State
Sen. Richard Polanco, D-Los Angeles, chair of the Latino
caucus.
Dual admissions grants eligibility to students in the top 4-12
percent of their high school class after finishing two years of
community college. It was postponed for lack of funding.
Comprehensive review changed how applicants are evaluated, giving
less weight to test scores and more weight to personal experiences
and life challenges.
The California Constitution grants the UC autonomy from the
state to keep it free from political influence. Thus, legislators
looking to hold the university accountable find other ways of
having their voices heard.
“UC has to be responsive to the state and given its unique
governing structure, one way the legislature can communicate its
priorities is through the budget,” said Max Espinoza,
consultant to the Assembly Budget Committee and former student
regent.
Espinoza also works in the office of Assemblywoman Jenny
Oropeza, D-Long Beach, southern vice-chair of the Latino
caucus.
Funding for the university is a delicate subject today, with the
UC facing a $162.4 million cut under proposals suggested in Gov.
Gray Davis’ May budget revision.
With the university scrambling to find other sources of funding,
Regent Ward Connerly said the influence of the Latino caucus in
pushing for more underrepresented students in the UC is
damaging.
“They said they were going to hold our feet to the fire to
change the system,” he said. “And no one wants to harm
the university budget.”
As the leader of anti-affirmative action policy Proposition 209,
Connerly has butted heads with the Latino caucus on several
occasions.
Connerly added, “How the hell do you make public policy
when they force you to make changes to benefit certain ethnic
groups and threatening to withhold the budget?”
Unlike Connerly, Davis believes the intentions of the caucus
members are sincere.
“There’s no way to avoid pressure when you’re
dealing with individuals who feel ““ and I truly believe this
““ they are acting in the best interests of the UC,”
Davis said.
She added that it is unrealistic for legislators to expect more
diverse admissions by one or two policy changes.
“As an education researcher, I know that any good changes
take time,” said Davis, a doctoral student in higher
education and organizational change at UCLA.
Espinoza still believes UC-legislative interaction is necessary
to keep the university in check.
“It forces the UC to think about the needs of the state
versus the needs of the exclusionary elite,” Espinoza
said.
“This can easily happen in an insular governance system
that allows the UC to do as it pleases,” he continued.
Polanco added that the legislature is obligated to watch over
the university in certain respects.
“We have a responsibility and duty to represent taxpayers,
and they expect our system of higher education to be fair and
equitable,” he said.
Despite the dynamic that exists between the UC and legislature,
some regents remain untouched.
“I’ve never been lobbied by any legislator. Any
pressure is indirect to the Regents,” said Regent Velma
Montoya.