Viewpoint Cartoon

Tuesday, November 11, 1997

Regents looking to fill student seat

STUDENT REGENT Application deadline approaches for new board
representative

By Kathryn McClymond

Applications for the 1998-99 student-regent position are now
available on all the UC campuses. In today’s column, I want to
describe this position and encourage all UC students to consider
applying.

The student regent position is an appointed board position, but
it differs from the other appointed positions in a number of ways.
First, the student position is "younger" than other board
positions; the first student sat on the board in 1975. Also, the
student only sits as a voting member for one year (preceded by a
brief designate, non-voting period), as opposed to other appointed
terms of 12 years.

Most importantly, the process of selecting the student regent is
much more complicated than the appointment of other regents. An
interested UC undergraduate, graduate or professional must submit a
completed application form to the appropriate campus office by Nov.
14. A nominating committee, made up of UC students, reviews these
applications and chooses to interview a number of students. In the
first round, students are interviewed in the northern and southern
parts of the state. The northern and southern nominating committees
forward nine names to the University of California Students’
Association (UCSA) Board. UCSA interviews the nine semi-finalists
and chooses three finalists. These three finalists are forwarded to
a subcommittee of the Board of Regents. In February, the regents’
subcommittee interviews the three finalists and selects one student
to sit on the Board of Regents.

The student regent will then be voted onto the board at the next
meeting (in March 1998) and invited to sit as a regent-designate at
the table with the rest of the board. From that point until June
30, 1998, the student regent-designate has access to all the
information that other regents have, but without a vote. On July 1,
when the previous student regent steps down, the new regent assumes
a voting position on the board.

From this moment on the student regent has the same rights and
responsibilities as any other regent. He or she sits on one or two
standing committees on the board. For example, this year I sit on
the Finance, Educational Policy, and Grounds and Buildings
committees. In addition, student regents serve on ad hoc
committees. This year I’ve served on the University of California
in D.C. Committee, and I’m an advisory member of the 10th campus
committee. Most importantly, the student regent votes on every
issue that comes before the board just like any other regent.

The student-regent position, then, is like and unlike the other
board positions. As a student regent you are like the other regents
on paper: You have the same voting rights, sit on the same
committees and have the same responsibility to vote in a way that
best serves the overall interests of the university. However, you
also face a unique set of challenges in the role. First, you are
most likely significantly younger than any other regent, and you
have to work harder to earn respect and credibility. Second, your
term is short, the shortest of any regent. As a result it is
tempting for others not to invest as much energy in a relationship
with you as with long-term regents, and it may be more difficult
for you to get up to speed on issues, personalities and politics
within the university system. My strategy has been to pick a
handful of issues and concentrate on those.

Finally, there is a tendency for students, faculty,
administrators and other regents to assume that you are primarily
(if not solely) interested in student issues and that you will vote
the way the majority of students want you to vote. However, as last
year’s student regent, Jess Bravin, once commented to me, you are
accountable to the people of California and your own conscience,
not to any specialized constituency. My strategy has been, and
continues to be, to gather as much information as possible from as
many sources as possible and then to vote in the best long-term
interests of the university.

The student regent position demands extraordinary time and
energy commitments; your academic progress will definitely be
slowed down, and you may have to set aside other activities during
your term. The privileges, however, more than compensate. As a
regent, you gain a unique perspective on how the UC system works.
You also have an opportunity to shape policy that affects the
entire university community and to serve the people of California
in one of the greatest institutions in the state, if not the
country.

If you are interested in higher education in this state, and if
you are willing to give the time and effort necessary to be a
contributing board member, I urge you to pick up an application at
your campus Student Affairs Office and apply before Nov. 14.