UCLA striving to comply with UC regulations on student group funding

The UCLA administration is currently reviewing a policy change that would modify the registration process for student groups and may put the university in concordance with Supreme Court rulings made on the issue.

The current Undergraduate Students Association Council guidelines only allow officially recognized student organizations to apply for funding from the undergraduate student government. Groups that are political and religious in nature are categorized as independent and cannot receive funding.

During winter quarter, USAC was informed by administrative representative Rick Tuttle that this practice is in violation of University of California regulations, which require funds be allocated to student groups on a viewpoint-neutral basis.

Since then, council has been working with the administration to institute a funding system that will put USAC in compliance with UC policy.

Council and the administration have come to the conclusion that a change needs to be made to university policy, not USAC bylaws, said Matt Kaczmarek, external vice president.

A push for a USAC bylaw change was made throughout the year by General Representative Josh Lawson, but was opposed by most councilmembers.

“They have acknowledged that the problem of funding groups is a structural one that (the Center for Student Programming) has to deal with,” said President Anica McKesey.

At this point, the most viable solution seems to be to change the registration process for student groups, allowing all groups to apply to be officially recognized and subsequently be eligible for funding, McKesey said.

For student groups to be officially recognized, they are required to have a faculty sponsor, three signatories, a constitution, a non-discrimination policy and registration with the Center for Student Programming.

Earlier this quarter, council presented a proposal to the administration that all student groups should be eligible for official status as long as they meet this criteria, Kaczmarek said.

The proposal was drafted with the input of several councilmembers as well as various student groups, said McKesey.

But changing the registration process for student groups will not successfully solve the problem, because certain groups may not be able to aptly meet the criteria for becoming officially recognized, said Lawson.

“It will be hard for certain organizations to find sponsorship. ... It’s blatantly not going to implement a system of viewpoint neutrality,” Lawson said.

Though it may be difficult for some organizations to receive official recognition, Kaczmarek said he believes most groups will be able to meet the criteria, and independent organizations may be too big of a liability for USAC.

Kaczmarek is optimistic that the administration will agree to the proposal and that the modification will put USAC in concordance with UC policy.

“My understanding is that come fall (quarter), the university will change the policy so that independents can apply to become officially recognized student organizations,” Kaczmarek said.

The administration is currently in the process of discussing the proposal to determine if it is sufficient to ensure USAC is no longer in violation of university regulations, said Dean of Students Robert Naples.

“When we talked to (the UC Office of the President) they raised a number of issues. ... This seems like a good thing from the way I understand it,” Naples said, adding that he is not sure a modification to the registration process would solve every problem completely.

In the next few weeks, the administration will meet with councilmembers to discuss the proposal and plan to have a solid solution by the end of the quarter.

McKesey and Kaczmarek have both said they believe the registration process will be changed for the next academic year.