UCSA Gives Students a Voice in State Government

For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, every UC Berkeley student supports an association that works to keep each student an active player in California higher education.

At a cost of $1.30 per student each year, the ASUC uses student fees to become a member of the University of California Students Association, a systemwide group that lobbies for students on issues like rising tuition and diminishing financial aid.

"We are trying to stake out ourselves as an apolitical force in the state," said UCSA Field Organizer and full-time staffer Amanda Martin. "We want the governor, legislators and the regents to listen to us, and that will take more funding, staff and networking. We're moving in that direction."

The 35-year-old association, which includes five full-time staff members, reserves three spots on its board of directors for UC students. Membership on the board usually includes external affairs representatives, including ASUC External Affairs Vice President Jason Chu.

At their annual summer conference the board members vote on which major issues to tackle on all UC campuses. Those ideas are then put into motion by individual student groups at each UC campus.

During their July conference, UCSA members voiced the most vital issues affecting UC students, including access and affordability, diversity in admissions and student voting for state elections.

While fees have not risen this year, a past focus for the organization has been student fee hikes. Fees increased steadily between 2002 and 2005, and the UCSA's student compact is aimed at ensuring that students have more say in the UC budgeting process.

UCSA president Bill Schiebler said the governor has consistently excluded students in the budget process by implementing unreasonable fee increases, but the student compact will help to include students' needs through legislation.

The UCSA will also be trying to increase voter registration and turnout among the student body. The group hopes to increase turnout throughout UC by 10 percent from 2002 levels, Schiebler said.

Chu said he is working with campus organizations such as CalPIRG to help get out the message.

In addition to sending out voter registration forms to the residential halls on campus, Chu hopes to create a political atmosphere leading up to the November election season by bringing political speakers to campus and registering students to vote at accessible locations.

"An entire department called Campus Mobilization has been created to head this (voting) effort and we know that with a centralized effort in the ASUC, big things will happen," Chu said.

Voter registration is an annual issue that the UCSA tackles, but a recent drop in minority student enrollment numbers at UCLA this year has prompted a greater focus on diversity issues, members said.

Student regent Maria Ledesma plans to work with the UCSA to better understand what concerns students regarding higher education.

"While I am familiar with important issues on my campus, UCSA members, especially the executive board, have a better pulse on what is important on their campuses," she said.

While the UCSA operates statewide, students can still get involved at a local level, said former ASUC External Affairs Vice President Sharon Han.

In addition to contacting their local UCSA student representative, students can get involved by attending general on-campus meetings and conferences hosted by the UCSA and their external affairs vice president.

While the UCSA is a non-partisan organization, Schiebler said he hopes to create a voter guide for students that spells out how candidates feel about education issues and how they improve higher education for all California students.

"There are issues that are not being addressed and there are students across the University of California who do not have that voice," he said. "And that is what gives me the confidence to make sure our agenda is heard."

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