Students will vote on whether to expand what the Basic Needs Redistribution Center can purchase in an upcoming referendum.

The Good Clothes Good People Basic Needs Referendum, passed in 2020, established a $0.39 quarterly student fee that currently provides funding for the Basic Needs Redistribution Center to purchase school supplies and hygiene products. The revised referendum – which is on the ballot in the upcoming Undergraduate Students Association election – would allow the center to buy additional items and fund additional expenses and services.

GCGP president and fourth-year biology student Holly Hebden said the Basic Needs Redistribution Center, which is run by GCGP – a student group – is a space on campus that promotes student accessibility by providing free clothing, school supplies and hygiene products.​​

Hebden, the referendum’s campaign representative, said the revised language will expand the center’s offerings for students and will not affect student fees.

“It’s not a fee increase or decrease,” Hebden said. “All it is is expanding our language for us to be able to continue to meet the evolving needs of students with basic needs resources.”

While the center currently provides outside resources, such as professional wear and technology, these can only be supplied through community donations, she added.

The language of the original referendum has restricted the center’s work, said Community Service commissioner Carolyn Wang.

“Throughout the years, we’ve kind of realized that basic needs isn’t really necessarily looking the same,” Wang said. “It’s not necessarily just two things, school supplies and hygiene products.”

Wang added that eviction challenges that the center faced this past fall also motivated the creation of this resolution. The amendment referendum’s language would allow GCGP to use its funding to pay for rent or a new location, she said.

[Related: Student leaders seek new home for Basic Needs Redistribution Center]

Hebden said the center will continue to remain transparent about where funding is allocated.

“We actually are going to be continuing to publish our expenditure reports online, so if people are ever concerned about that, that will be made readily available,” she said. “We, of course, love feedback. We encourage people to visit us. We want to keep helping people.”

Student Wellness commissioner Chiara Frank said she is excited to see how the center will grow. She added that with the proposed change, the center could reach more students.

Frank said she encourages students to do their research and participate in the election.

“I would encourage students to vote so they have a voice in these decisions that can influence their everyday life on campus,” Frank said. “A lot of the referendums, for example, like these, have influence over a lot of our lives. Even if maybe it doesn’t impact you directly, it could impact your peers.”

Voting will open on the MyUCLA website Friday at 8 a.m. and close May 16 at noon. The USA Elections Board will announce the results May 16 at 7 p.m, according to the election calendar.