USAC brings lawyer into dispute regarding funds
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 18, 2001 9:00 p.m.
REMINDER: Applications for positions on the
2001-2002 Undergraduate Students Association Council are due
Friday. Candidates have until noon to turn their packets in to 312
Kerckhoff Hall.
By Robert Salonga
Daily Bruin Reporter
The Undergraduate Students Association Council approved legal
counsel Tuesday to assist in the revision of its bylaws regarding
student fee allocation and sponsorship guidelines.
David Maggiore-Anet, an attorney for San Diego-based law firm
Littler Mendelson, has been retained by the University of
California Students Association since September 2000.
UCSA is the official systemwide association of campus student
governments in the UC, lobbying in state and national arenas on
behalf of students. Since USAC pays membership fees to UCSA,
council will not have to pay additional costs in seeking advice
from the lawyer.
Maggiore-Anet, who graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 1994, was
also involved in student government at UCSB.
USAC External Vice President Evan Okamura originally proposed
Maggiore-Anet’s name to council, citing the latter’s
involvement in the UCSB student government as one of the reasons
for his selection. As EVP, Okamura is the liaison between UCSA and
USAC.
“Not only is he knowledgeable of the legal matters
involved, but he’s been through situations similar to what
council is involved in,” Okamura said, adding that
Maggiore-Anet has been following the Southworth case and its impact
on the UC system.
USAC President Elizabeth Houston, who had said in the past she
would hire her own lawyer should the council hire one, said
Wednesday she won’t retain her own attorney before the April
27 revision deadline to avoid complicating the revision
process.
But some council members said they are wary of the level of
involvement of attorneys.
“We should have them as a safeguard, but not have them
perform the process,” said Community Service Commissioner
Fannie Huang.
Okamura assured council that Maggiore-Anet’s role in the
revision process would be to check that USAC’s current bylaws
and council’s revisions comply with University of California
guidelines.
On Wednesday, the council submitted proposed changes to its
bylaws to Maggiore-Anet, and Houston submitted her own
proposals.
Huang said she’s concerned about the upcoming deadline and
its effect on entities beyond USAC. “We’re approaching
the deadline very quickly and there are many groups whose funding
is reliant on us getting our bylaws in compliance,” she
said.
USAC’s efforts to comply with the UC was prompted in part
by the Southworth v. University of Wisconsin Supreme Court case,
which brought into question a student government’s discretion
in allocating mandatory student fees to campus groups.
UC policy states that mandatory student fees shall be legal only
if money distributed to student groups is allocated without regard
to the viewpoint of the programs.
USAC has been working since last summer to revise the language
of its bylaws that address sponsorship to ensure viewpoint
neutrality.
Administrative Representative Lyle Timmerman originally set a
revision deadline for Feb. 27, but appeals by the council to
Chancellor Albert Carnesale led to subsequent extensions, first to
April 13 and then to April 27. Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs
Winston Doby stated in a letter to USAC Wednesday that he supported
council’s efforts to meet their deadline.
“We recognize how difficult this task has been for you and
look forward to receiving your proposed revisions,” Doby
wrote.
