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Monday, September 28, 1998

Student committees share power with adminstration

APPOINTMENTS: Representatives can affect decisions on funding, focus on campus issues, programs

By Barbara Ortutay

Daily Bruin Staff

While the spotlight shines on the student government members elected by the students, a much overlooked army of students is appointed to various campus committees each year to deal with countless aspects of UCLA life.

These committees deal with issues such as student health and the Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC) budget and can also advise the chancellor on various student issues.

Although positions are open to the entire student body, committees are often difficult to fill because of a lack of student interest.

"The committee on diversity was one of the most popular ones, while nobody applied for several other committees, like the Wooden Center Board," said USAC President Stacy Lee.

Yet, the number of applicants increased this year, with 75 people seeking positions in the first pool of applicants, according to Lee.

Many of the committees need student representatives from the ranks of both undergraduate and graduate students. The Graduate Student Association appoints graduate student members to these positions, as does USAC.

The number of positions USAC needs to appoint is about 80. These positions are advertised in the Daily Bruin, on public notices and are e-mailed to the more than 200 registered student organizations.

Still, the interest is not overwhelming.

"I didn't know about these positions, and now that I know about them, I'm still not interested," said Will Heermance, a second-year theater student.

"I guess for people who don't have other activities, it might be a good thing to be involved in student government," he added.

The appointment process is outlined in the USAC constitution. Presidential appointments include positions such as budget review director and finance committee chair, both of which deal with the USAC budget. The president may consider the recommendations of a search committee for these appointments.

"P.J. (Gagajena, USAC internal vice president), Christina Gonzales (chief of staff to the USAC president) and I sorted through the applications and did a first round of evaluation," Lee said.

The narrowed pool of applicants was then interviewed by Lee and Gonzales, and Lee's choice was then forwarded to the Appointment Review Committee (ARC) for approval.

Applicants who ARC passes are submitted to the council as a whole for a final vote.

The ARC is made up of Gagajena, General Representative Mike de la Rocha, Facilities Commissioner Trinh Huynh and Academic Affairs Commissioner Zuhaira Scott.

The duties of the appointees vary from committee to committee.

"The most important role that a student rep on a committee can do is get the info to us about what the administration is thinking on various issues," Lee said.

Other appointments, namely positions for the Academic Senate, are made by the Academic Affairs Commission later in the fall, said Pat McLaren, USAC advisor.

Finance Committee Chair Adrian Manalang is one of Lee's appointees.

"They asked me about things like time commitment, previous experiences, fairness and whether I was biased towards anyone," he said.

The Finance Committee deals with contingency funding, which is part of the USAC money that comes from student fees. Contingency funds are used for various programs. This year, the committee will be responsible for dispensing about $46,000 to programs and activities. Students can apply for funding through the Finance Committee.

Most of the appointed committee members, such as the Finance Committee or the Student Health Advisory Committee, receive a stipend. The yearly pay for members of these two committees is $2,400 and $2,000, respectively.

The Student Health Committee meets at least twice a quarter, and its responsibilities consist of providing student input to the administration of Student Health Services.

Lee said it is important to think about how much influence the students hold on the committees.

On the Associated Students of UCLA (ASUCLA) Board of Directors, eight out of 13 members are students, so they have the majority of the input.

"The ASUCLA Board of Directors is an example where students play a major role in the decisions that are made about the association," Lee said.

"However, on other committees we appoint, there are only one or up to four reps, and these committees are already deemed 'advisory,'" she said.

Lee said that while the administration has breakfasts and lunches (called "shared governance lunches") with the students, they are often not included in areas of real decision making.

"There is also a lopsided experience, where some administrators have been involved in these areas for over 10 years, while the students may have only been involved a year or two," said Lee. "They can drag out important topics for years, knowing the students are at a disadvantage with a regular one- or two-year turnover rate."

Pam Cysner, from the Community Activities Committee, disagreed.

"These committees are run by and for the students," she said.

With reports from Michael Weiner, Daily Bruin Senior Staff.

Related site:

•UCLA Undergraduate Students Association

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