Conciencia Libre fine creates rift in USAC

  DAVE HILL/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Students from
Conciencia Libre slept out in front of Kerckhoff Hall last
November. The university has fined the group for $150.

By Scott B. Wong
Daily Bruin Staff

The student group responsible for erecting hundreds of crosses
around campus last November has created an ethical divide among
members of the Undergraduate Students Association Council.

Conciencia Libre has not responded to a $150 fine issued by the
university for damages sustained to school grounds where the
crosses were planted. Because USAC serves as the
organization’s sponsor, it bears the financial responsibility
for the group.

At the Nov. 28 USAC meeting, members were divided over whether
council should pay the debt incurred or hold Conciencia Libre
members accountable.

“The sponsor is ultimately responsible for the actions of
their groups,” said Lyle Timmerman, USAC administrative
representative, to council during the meeting.

He suggested ASUCLA place holds on records of students in
Conciencia Libre to penalize individuals rather than the whole
group.

Some council members, including Academic Affairs Commissioner
Roseanne Gutierrez, objected to Timmerman’s suggestion.
Gutierrez said a student’s education should not be impeded
over such a matter.

Certain council members brought up the educational benefits of
the crosses and the visual impact it had on students.

But Berky Nelson, director of the Center for Student
Programming, said the educational value and fine are unrelated
topics.

“While the program may well have been educational, the
reason the bill was incurred was because the group defied
university officials,” Nelson said at the meeting.

“If the council pays for it, this group walks away scot
free,” he continued.

USAC President Elizabeth Houston agreed and said the matter
boiled down to responsibility.

“The educational benefits do not outweigh violations of
the rules,” Houston said to council.

But whether USAC should bear the brunt of the fine may be moot,
since one Conciencia Libre member said the fine is as good as
paid.

“The fine hasn’t been paid at this moment because
the organization hasn’t regrouped since break,” said
Mark Jimenez, a fourth-year Latin American studies and history
student and former finance chair of Conciencia Libre. “We
plan to clear it up.”

But Jimenez said he did not see a problem with USAC paying for
the fine.

“We would allow USAC to pay if they would be so
generous,” he said.

Members of the organization plan to meet with Nelson to discuss
starting a new relationship with administrators under new terms and
leadership, Jimenez said.

Conciencia Libre violated its written agreement with the
university by planting crosses outside Westwood Plaza ““ the
designated area ““ and staking them in the ground rather than
raising them on platforms.

USAC facilities commissioner Steve Davey said by violating
university policy, the organization set a bad example for other
student groups.

“Conciencia Libre essentially lied to the
university,” Davey said. “When one student group
doesn’t follow the rules and gets away with it, what kind of
message does that send to other student groups?”

Two sprinkler heads were damaged and the hundreds of stakes used
to prop up the crosses left large holes in the grass in front of
Kerckhoff Hall, according to Davey.

But Jimenez said the decision to stake the crosses in the ground
was made with the consensus of 30 members.

“The crosses were first put on platforms but the wind was
blowing them down and it didn’t work well,” Jimenez
said.

The groups decided to move them to the university’s free
speech area, Meyerhoff Park, and stake them in the ground, Jimenez
said.

Conciencia Libre displayed nearly 600 crosses as a reminder of
Latin Americans who have died attempting to cross the San Diego
border after the government extended border security 116 yards out
into the Pacific Ocean in 1994.

“We’ve received a positive response from professors,
students, and staff,” Jimenez said.

But university officials were fearful the crosses would start a
riot and told the organization the display did not add to the
academic environment, Jimenez said.

The actions of Conciencia Libre will have bearing on future
funding allocations, according to some USAC members.

“When (Conciencia Libre) comes back requesting funding, I
will definitely take their actions into consideration,” Davey
said.

Despite pressure from the university to remove the display and
the stiff penalty imposed, Jimenez said the display was well worth
the fine.

“We got more out of it than the university did,”
Jimenez said. “The university only got 150 bucks, but we got
to speak to hundreds of students.”