Letters to the editor

Funding reform beneficial to student
organizations

The funding reform introduced by the Constitutional Review
Committee is a great victory for the Undergraduate Students
Association Council and all student organizations. The CRC’s
proposed funding structure transforms the inefficient base budget
system by implementing both a Student Government Operational Fund
for USAC offices and the Student Organizations Operational Fund for
all registered student organizations.

We allocated a vast majority of the operational funds, 80
percent of the pool, for the operational costs of student
organizations. We also tailored the system to provide equal
opportunity for all student groups, old and new, to apply for
funding by having quarterly allocations instead of a one-time
allocation in the summer.

This system is also better structured to suit the needs of
different student groups because some groups need money from the
summer on, while some just need it for a quarter. Additionally, any
money that is not used during the quarter will be recycled for the
pool for the next quarter.

But the most important change this new funding structure brings
is making more programming money available through the significant
increases to the USA Programming Fund and Contingency Fund. We
achieved this by earmarking where the total surplus is spent. This
ensures that resources available to students are more efficiently
allocated to fund the amazing programs that happen every day.

Anneli Villarin Constitutional Review Committee
chair

Farmers’ market needs stronger voice

UCLA and the greater Westwood community have a vested interest
in sustaining the 10-year tradition of the Westwood Farmers’
Market. While it’s possible to relocate the market onto the
main campus, as discussed in “Moving the market” (News,
Mar. 3), we must consider the viability of this prospect for
farmers and the non-UCLA community.

Market managers and vendors have expressed interest in
relocating to part of Lot 36 in Westwood, rather than the main
campus. Lot 36 would provide substantial parking and better
accessibility for farmers. But no dialogue exists yet between
market affiliates and the UCLA administration.

The California Student Sustainability Coalition, though, has
been building rapport with individual vendors and managers,
investigating these possibilities.

The farmers’ market is more than willing to establish a
dialogue with the university, but we need more student support for
anything to happen.

Megan Carney Third-year, anthropology and
Italian