By Rachel Makabi
DAILY BRUIN SENIOR STAFF
[email protected]
For weeks, members of the Undergraduate Students Council
Association debated with members of the Associated Students of UCLA
over the removal of USAC’s $40,000 utilities subsidy.
But some members of ASUCLA’s board of directors said they
would have had a different perspective on the issue if top
executives of the association had explained that the subsidy did
not arise solely from increased utility costs.
In 1997, the association changed the method by which it charged
for office space, making people pay for the hallways and corridors
surrounding their offices in addition to the usable space of the
offices themselves
For USAC, this change nearly doubled the amount of square
footage the association charged them for ““ from 6,056 to
12,196 square feet, though they were really using the same
amount.
When USAC members in 1997 complained that the increase would
significantly cripple their ability to operate, ASUCLA started
giving student governments, including the Graduate Students
Association, maintenance and utilities subsidies to help offset
increased costs.
Top executives, including ASUCLA finance director Rich Delia,
said the subsidy only came about because of increased utility
costs. Meanwhile, other board members say they were left in the
dark about the history.
“It was never discussed. This is something that is very
problematic for me,” said Reem Salahi, the undergraduate
representative on ASUCLA’s board of directors.
“It reinforces that student services are being forsaken
for meeting the bottom line,” she continued.
ASUCLA executive director Pat Eastman disagreed, saying nothing
is being kept from the board.
“The board changes from year to year, and I do my best to
give them every bit of information that I can, but I can’t
take them through the process of every issue,” Eastman
said.
“This is only $50,000 in a $70 million operation,”
she continued.
The board made changes in the way it charged for office space to
increase its revenues in order to keep student fees low, Eastman
said.
It makes sense, she said, because no one uses the hallways and
corridors surrounding an area except the people working in that
area.
Eastman said the board, specifically herself and Student Union
director Jerry Mann ““ who is a USAC member by virtue of his
position ““ were primarily responsible for the change.
Mann deferred all questions to Eastman.
“This is the first time I am hearing about it,” said
USAC President David Dahle, who served on council this past year as
a general representative. “Maybe others knew about this
issue, but they never articulated this to us.”
ASUCLA has subsidized the increased utilities and maintenance
fees for student governments every year since the changes were made
in 1997, including this year.
But Eastman said student governments should pay for their own
costs and should increase their own membership fees if
necessary.
BOD graduate representative Darrel Menthe disagreed, and said
the board has a moral commitment to continue subsidizing
USAC’s utilities and maintenance costs.
“I do support the accounting changes, but I don’t
support charging students for it,” Menthe said.
The budget can be revised, but Menthe said the board would not
remove USAC’s subsidy once it already promised it to
them.