Lobbying for the left

UCSA fights for liberal bills

By Andrew R Quinio
From the February 2006 Print Edition

Are gay marriage and drivers’ licenses for illegal immigrants the two issues affecting UC students the most?

The University of California Students Association seems to think so, which is why the group hired lobbyists to focus on those two issues in 2005. The UCSA is a coalition of UC students who, according to their Web site, “provide a collective voice for all students through advocacy and direct action.” The advocacy most often pertains to left-leaning objectives and values.

Like the Associated Students of the University of California, the student government of UC Berkeley, the UCSA seems to be in lockstep with the liberal agenda. The Lobbyist Directory on the California Secretary of State’s Web site provides a detailed list of organizations that employ lobbyists or contract with lobbying firms to represent their interests at the State Capitol for the 2005-06 legislative session. The directory also provides the bills and resolutions that the registered organizations lobbied.

Among the bills the UCSA hired firms to lobby was AB 19, or the “Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act.” According to AB 19, enactment of this would have made “conforming changes with regard to the consent to, and solemnization of, marriage …” The Legislative Information Web site also lists the name of this bill as the “Gender-neutral marriage” bill. UCSA Legislative Affairs Director Linda Nguy told the Patriot that the board members voted to support AB 19.

The UCSA additionally lobbied ACA 6, which prohibits the state from issuing drivers’ licenses and providing in-state tuition to California residents who are not citizens of the United States. Board members voted to oppose this along with a similar bill, AB 589, which makes illegal immigrants ineligible for an exemption from non-resident tuition. The Lobbyist Directory also lists AB 589 as a bill the UCSA lobbied. Similarly, at a May 2005 Board of Directors meeting, the group voted to endorse SB 160, which would make “undocumented students eligible for financial aid.”

SB 5, the academic freedom bill sponsored by State Senator Bill Morrow, R-Oceanside, was also lobbied and voted against by the UCSA. This bill would have established guidelines relating to academic freedom and implemented a Student Bill of Rights. This bill was seen by many conservatives as a measure that would have protected the conservative voice on liberal campuses.

The UCSA made its stance clear on campus safety, lobbying against SB 337 and AB 992. Authored by State Senator Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, SB 337 would have required the UCs, Cal State campuses, and community colleges to dismiss any student who is convicted of an offense that requires him or her to register as a sex offender. Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange, authored AB 992, which would allow law enforcement officers of the UC and Cal State campuses to overhear or record communications related to sexual assault or other sexual offenses. Both bills were lobbied by the UCSA, and according to Nguy, the board voted to oppose both bills.

The California Secretary of State’s Web site shows that the UCSA spent a total of $24,750 on general lobbying activity during the 2005-2006 legislative session. Such lobbying activity is made possible by the financial support of the University student body. The UCSA Web site explains, “UCSA is funded almost entirely by membership dues made by all of the campus student governments in the University of California.” To send a voting member to the UCSA, a school must pay a minimum of $1.20 per student. At UC Berkeley, this charge comes from the $27.50 ASUC fee that is collected every semester from enrolled students.

Minutes from several UCSA meetings seem to characterize a student group that is in full agreement with the liberal agenda, insulated from conservative ideas. Along with fighting fee hikes and protecting financial aid, the UCSA also seeks to eliminate the U.S. military presence on college campuses. The minutes from a September 2005 Board of Directors meeting lists UC disengagement from military research and recruitment as part of the UCSA agenda. At a May 2005 meeting, minutes for the conference indicate that representatives from UC Santa Barbara delivered a report that noted, “Everyone should try to kick military recruiters off campus.”

The enduring issue of affirmative action has a role in the UCSA agenda as well. The minutes for the October 2005 meeting reveal that a resolution was created to support “National Take Affirmative Action Day.” One member, speaking in support of the resolution, spoke of the “nationwide crisis of diversity in our schools” and the ability of the event to raise awareness for this issue.

The lobbyist Directory indicates that, in accordance with this stance, the UCSA lobbied for AB 1452, a bill written by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, D-Los Angeles. The bill essentially undermines Proposition 209 as it would authorize the University of California and the California State University to “consider culture, race, gender, ethnicity, national origin, geographic origin, and household income, along with other relevant factors, in undergraduate and graduate admissions …”

While it seems that the UCSA has a left-leaning record, External Affairs Vice President — and UC Berkeley campus UCSA representative — Sharon Han maintains that the group fairly represents all students. “Organizations such as UCSA ensure that student interests are represented in Sacramento,” she said. “This administration has made every effort possible to ensure that all student perspectives are considered before implementing policy.”

The UCSA does not narrow its focus to divisive issues, however, as it does address measures that directly affect university students. They lobbied in support of AB 39 and SB 925, which dealt with the establishment of charter schools and local assistance to elementary schools, respectively. However, given its previous advocacy of issues like gay marriage, the UCSA may not be bound solely to the primary issues facing California students.

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