Because of recent Undergraduate Students Association Council This monumental transformation was made official after talks Previously, only those groups that were “officially The Handbook for Officially Recognized Student Organizations This type of funding system was ruled illegal in two Supreme These two crucial verdicts culminated in a series of funding Furthermore, USAC found itself in violation of the University of Last year, General Representative Josh Lawson’s office Now, all student groups can apply for several types of funding As a member of the Equal Access Coalition and a current voting This is a step in the right direction to ensuring all students We must work to ensure that the new funding policy does not Go to students.asucla.ucla.edu for more information on applying Alex Gruenberg is the USAC Financial Supports commissioner.
action, all UCLA students have won a tremendous victory in terms of
their student governance. For the first time in many years, all
student groups will be able to apply for funding from USAC, as it
is now recognizing newly revised funding guidelines that will
include independent groups.
between the University of California Office of the President and
UCLA administration.
recognized” received funding according to USAC’s
bylaws. Such status required a departmental sponsorship and overtly
stated religious and political groups could not apply.
stated that “programs, activities, and functions sponsored by
an Officially Recognized organization may not be political or
religious in nature.” This system that inherently excluded
independent groups was not only morally wrong, but its legality was
questionable as well.
Court Cases: Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
v. Southworth (March 22, 2000) and Rosenberger v. University of
Virginia (1995).
policy amendments that echoed throughout the respective UC student
bodies, save one, UCLA. But the court decisions were unambiguous in
their intent ““ to ensure viewpoint neutrality in the funding
allocation process. Accordingly, the Southworth decision argued,
“Viewpoint neutrality is the justification for requiring the
student to pay the fee in the first instance and for ensuring the
integrity of the program’s operation once the funds have been
collected.”
California Office of the President’s Guidelines in 1999 and a
new draft that came out just this last academic year.
spearheaded the movement to change the funding system, supported by
many independent groups. His efforts toward achieving equal funding
access were highly commendable and in part responsible for the
eventual change. Blocked at the council table, Lawson and his staff
worked tirelessly, communicating their concerns to the UCOP and
UCLA administration regarding the unjust system and a possible
compromise.
from USAC, including a base budget (submitted once a year, over the
summer) and contingency funds that are available throughout the
entire year. These funds can be used to pay for a student
group’s advertising, office needs, programs and more.
member of USAC, I am extremely pleased with the new funding policy.
Achieving this victory has been a prominent goal of the Equal
Access Coalition over the past year. The groups that have
traditionally received funding in the past may see lower budget
levels than before ““ but that is more than acceptable if it
means including groups that have gotten absolutely nothing year
after year.
have the ability to access their student government in an equal
manner. Kristina Doan, president of the Bruin Democrats, which is
an independent group, stated, “A base budget is imperative to
the stability and growth of a student group. Groups should be
concerned about achieving their goals and reaching out to more UCLA
students; not worrying about how their club will financially
sustain itself.”
revert back to an exclusive form in the future. If your independent
group has not yet applied for a base budget for 2004-2005, I
strongly encourage you to do so before the new deadline, July 22 at
5 p.m.
for funding.
You can E-mail him at [email protected]
