Most decisions affecting the 200,000 students of the University
of California are made far away from them.
Except for one or two meetings each year, the regents convene at
UCSF, a school with the smallest number of students in the UC
system and inaccessible to students at the major campuses. Even the
meetings at UCSF are held at an area separate from the parts of
campus where students take classes when they could be held at UC
Berkeley.
The UC cites logistical problems such as security and the cost
of flying regents and other employees to UCLA from their Oakland
office as reasons for holding the meetings at UCSF.
It is absurd that the board trumps students’ right to have
a direct voice in decisions made by 16 appointed regents who often
have no background in education.
Students are already pressed financially by triple-digit
textbook prices and ever-increasing fees, which have almost doubled
since current fourth-years began their studies.
It is blatantly unfair for the regents to expect students to
find the time and financial means to attend meetings at an
inaccessible location. It should be the regents’
responsibility to increase their availability.