UCSA proposes opt-out fee to increase funding, equalize representation
The undergraduate student government received a proposal from the University of California Student Association that would allow students to opt out of a student fee used to cover the costs of its membership. (Efron Pinon/Daily Bruin)
By Shreya Maskara
Nov. 23, 2015 2:22 a.m.
The University of California Student Association proposed at the council meeting Tuesday to allow students to opt out of a student fee used to cover the costs of the undergraduate student government’s UCSA membership.
UCSA President Kevin Sabo proposed the Student Advocacy, Governance and Engagement, or SAGE, fee to equalize membership fees across UC campuses and allow students to decide whether UCSA will advocate on their behalf.
UCSA, a student-led organization comprised of student leaders from UC campuses, aims to provide a collective voice to UC students through advocacy and direct action.
As a part of the new voluntary fee system, individual students would decide whether to pay a fee that contributes to UCSA membership. Sabo estimated each student in a UCSA-represented school would pay about $5 annually, under the new system.
UCLA students currently pay a mandatory Undergraduate Students Association Council fee, part of which is allocated for UCSA membership.
Sabo said he thinks the proposal will help reduce inequality across the UCSA board because UCSA membership fees vary across member associations.
He added associations pay different dues depending on their size and willingness to allocate funds for UCSA membership. UC Santa Barbara pays about $7 per student, while UC Berkeley pays $1.30 per student.
Sabo said the initiative was based on feedback from students at multiple universities who said they wanted to be more involved with UCSA.
Details of the proposal, including the time frame of its implementation and how students would opt out of the fee, have not been decided, Sabo added.
Sam Alavi, director of the office of advocacy and student representation at UC Davis, said she thinks the proposal will reduce unpredictability in the UCSA budget because students, rather than one student representative, can decide whether UCSA will represent their school.
“Right now, it only takes one (student representative) to decide to withdraw membership,” she said. “If any college pulls out of UCSA, we lose a significant proportion of our budget.”
USAC External Vice President Zach Helder said he thinks the proposal will keep petty politics and personal agendas from affecting the budget.
“If high-ranking individuals in student governments had personal vendettas with UCSA, they could essentially shut down the organization by severely damaging the budget,” he said.
Alavi added UC Davis recently rejoined UCSA to allow the association to advocate on behalf of UC Davis students.
“As a student who wanted UCSA to advocate for me, I think it’s extremely important that students get to decide whether their money goes to the organization,” she said.
Alavi added she thinks the proposal will lead to a potential increase in UCSA’s budget because California community colleges that instituted a similar voluntary payment system experienced an increase in funding for their respective advocacy organizations.
Sabo added he thinks the proposal is intended to ensure UCSA’s stability and potential to affect change, rather than increase or decrease its budget.
UCSA board members will introduce the proposal to several campuses over the next seven weeks. They will present their proposed changes to the UC Board of Regents at its bimonthly meeting in January.
Contributing reports by Kat-Bocanegra Speed and Melody Song, Bruin contributors.
