Student association’s finances hit point of cautious optimism
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 21, 1996 9:00 p.m.
Monday, April 22, 1996
Officials declare they are $500,000 less in debt for 1995By
Rachel Kelley
Daily Bruin Contributor
The financial hole that the students’ association dug itself
into is not as deep as was initially expected, according to
students’ association officials.
But despite the relatively positive fortunes experienced in the
tail end of the 1995 fiscal year, looming problems make it too
early to be optimistic, declared the association’s Executive
Director Charles Mack.
"Although we are ahead of budget, there are many items on our
plate that need to be factored into our new financial projections,"
Mack explained.
For instance, one unexpected wrench thrown into the students’
association financial machine is the Ackerman Union construction
delay. To date, students’ association executives estimate that it
will be complete by winter of 1997, a full quarter after of the
original projected date.
But Mack also cited disagreements between the association and
the UCLA administration as the basis for his conservative
reaction.
Contention between the two exists primarily because of the
students’ association’s dependence on a loan from the university
 a deal which has yet to be signed or put into concrete
terms, Mack said.
Details up for clarification include adjusting the association’s
five-year budget and finding ways the association can pay back the
university.
However, Mack indicated that Chancellor Charles Young’s
displeasure with the recently rejected proposal to decrease the
size of the students’ association’s board of directors is perhaps
the large obstacle in the way of finalizing the loan agreement.
Young indicated in a letter to the board that he supported the
measure.
Still, the proposal may resurface in the future, Mack said.
Previously, the board estimated a loss of $2 million for this
academic year. But given the $250,000 in profit accumulated during
the month of January and smaller losses during other months than
those that were projected, the student union now only faces a loss
of $1.5 million.
As such, Mack estimated that in fiscal 1995-96, the students’
association will come out at least a half a million better than
formerly expected.
"The good news is we are on track. The bad news is the future
looks a little bleaker," Mack said referring to items not yet
accounted for in the budget, such as the Ackerman Union
construction delay.
Other board members expressed a more positive outlook about the
association’s fiscal condition.
"It may be a slow road, but we’re on the road to recovery," said
Graduate Student Representative Peary Brug. "The association will
be more in tune with being a service provider, not only for the
students, but for the entire campus, and respond quicker to the
changing needs of students, faculty and staff," Brug said.
And at least one of Brug’s fellow board members agreed.
Undergraduate President’s Chief of Staff Dan Ryu cited the
formation of a Service Committee as evidence that the association
intends to improve its effectiveness, thereby reducing costs in the
long term and better fulfilling the mission of the association
 to serve students.
"Instead of the board just coming up with an idea for a service
and trying it out, risking the loss of thousands of dollars, the
committee would first look at the dollar cost, determine whether or
not the association can afford it and consider its effect on
students," Ryu explained.
But one board member believes that the situation is a bit more
complex, and that investing for the future may require sacrificing
for the present.
With an improved association may come an increase in students’
fees, indicated Tim Beasley, a graduate student alternate board
representative.
"If ASUCLA’s profits don’t cover the loan from the university,
the students fees can be upped to $117," Beasley claimed.
And though fee hikes may not be popular with students, the funds
would help the association get back on its feet, he maintained.
"We’ve always been good, and we want to continue to be good, but
we can’t always afford it," Beasley concluded.
* * *
In the search for a new executive director, prospects were
narrowed down to about six or seven candidates, Mack said.
Three finalists will be interviewed by the board; a final
decision could be reached by June.
