Saturday, October 11th, 2008

PULSE, SAFE referenda approved

Students approved two referenda that would ensure the financial futures of both the Associated Students UCLA and community service organizations in the undergraduate and graduate student elections.

Both SAFE, which would go toward ASUCLA, and PULSE, which would go toward community service and outreach organizations on campus, were passed by a majority of voters by a wide margin, according to election results released Thursday night.

“It was my heart and soul for the past quarter so I’m happy it passed,” said Farheen Malik, USAC’s recently-elected community service commissioner, who added that the community service organizations needed PULSE.

SAFE, named for its relevance to students, activities, facilities and employees, required the approval of both undergraduate and graduate students.

According to stipulations established by the chancellor, SAFE had to gain over 50 percent approval from the general student population with at least a 20 percent voter turnout.

Graduate students passed the referendum in their elections with a 61.4 percent approval rating. Undergraduate students passed the SAFE referendum at 58.6 percent and the general student population approved it at 59.4 percent.

“Now we just need to make sure that the money that students entrusted to us goes toward what we told them it’ll go toward,” said Tina Park, an undergraduate representative on the ASUCLA board of directors who will be serving the second year of her term next year.

Currently, students pay $7.50 a year toward ASUCLA, the umbrella organization that includes both student governments, Student Media and the services and retail operations throughout campus.

SAFE will gradually increase the yearly association fee to $55.50 by the end of the decade starting with a $12 increase in the 2006-2007 academic year. Every three years following that, the fee will be adjusted for inflation.

Student Media is the publisher of the Daily Bruin.

The financial viability of the association was dependent on the passage of SAFE.

In a model forecast that depicted ASUCLA’s financial future, the association could hypothetically go bankrupt in 2013 if it went on with planned capital projects.

Some of the planned capital projects were long overdue, according to ASUCLA, such as the Bombshelter, which has not been renovated in almost 40 years.

The majority of the additional fee increase will go toward capital projects such as building a South Campus Student Center in place of the Bombshelter and also renovating the Cooperage.

Renovating the X-Cape Gameroom into a juice bar and study lounge as well as renovations to the Cooperage will commence this summer, Park said.

SAFE will also go toward increasing ASUCLA student wages by 50 cents an hour and increasing the amount of student programming by $100,000.

Though ASUCLA will not start collecting the increased fee until the 2006-2007 school year, the additional funds will be allocated to wages and student programming starting next year.

PULSE, which stands for Promoting Understanding and Learning through Service and Education, will cost undergraduate students $19.50 a year, charged every quarter, to go toward four community service organizations that sponsor over 100 service projects: the Community Activities Committee, the Community Service Commission, the Campus Retention Committee and the Student Initiated Outreach Committee.

Representatives of the community service organizations have expressed the need for additional funds to maintain services like transportation to community sites and other resources and noted that the referendum would not be used to expand the organizations.

PULSE will require undergraduates to start paying the additional fee in fall 2005 and the fee will be adjusted every three years for inflation.

The Student Initiated Outreach Committee is slated to receive over half of the fee. The committee supports outreach efforts through programs like American Indian Recruitment and Mentors for Academic Peer Support.

Out of the four service organizations the Student Initiated Outreach Committee is the only one that receives federal funding and faced budget cuts of 75 percent in recent years.