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Living History Project

A Collective History of Student Engagement at UC Santa Barbara

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UCSB Student Lobby

Student Lobby History

In the late 1960′s, University of California students interning in state legislature offices observed a need for an organization to represent student opinion at the state capitol level.  It was at this point in time that the Legislature was authoring some of the most regressive pieces of legislation ever, such as surrounding each campus with barb-wire to prevent student protest.

It was also in 1968, that Governor Ronald Reagan created tuition for all UC campuses in the form of “student fees”. The interns founded the UC Student Lobby which originally consisted of interns to perform necessary research and a professional lobbyist.  The lobbyist was fired after several heated disagreements with the interns and ever since lobbyists have been recent UC graduates.  

Initially, the Student Lobby sought to influence the legislators on all matters of social reform, particularly the decriminalization of marijuana and prison reform, but they soon realized that their effectiveness was limited by such a wide purview; consequently, the UC Student Lobby narrowed its focus to educational policy, University of California issues, and the protection of student rights and responsibilities.

At UC Santa Barbara Student Lobby has worked to reform Associated Students, fight against South African Apartheid, the U.S. atrocities in Central America, protested the partnership UC has with nuclear weapons developers, lobbied against shady landlords in Isla Vista, and fought to preserve Affirmative Action.   


UCSB Student Lobby Victories
1970-1980

Tuition/ Educational Fee
Secured legislative approval of a $26 million appropriation to abolish tuition (Ed. Fee) at UC in 1972. Both houses approved the bill (part of the 1972 budget for UC) but Governor Reagan vetoed it. Attempted override fell 2 votes short of the 2/3 majority needed for an override.

Successfully opposed AB 135 (1972 session) which would have imposed a $900/year tuition at UC.

Helped secure passage of ACA 85 (Vasconcellos) which transferred authority to levy tuition form the UC Board of Regents to the Legislature. This measure appeared on the November, 1974 ballot as Proposition 16, but was defeated by the electorate.

Registration Fees
Organized a state-wide Reg Fee steering committee composed of student members on campus Reg Fee committees to share information and to develop statewide policy recommendations on student fee use.

Successfully lobbied the Regents and UC Administration to avoid a Reg Fee increase in 1975 by shifting funding for academic programs to other funding sources.

Convinced the University that Registration Fee levels need not be the same on all campuses. Differential fees, which will be part of the 1977-78 increase, reflect the concept that different campuses have different needs and fiscal pressures.
Financial Aid

Successfully lobbied the Regents to allocate an additional 1.6 million in 1972-73 budget and 2.5 million (Improved Access Grants) for student financial aid in 1973-74.

Successfully lobbied the Regents to include in the 1975-76 an additional $1 million in their student aid contingency fund to back stop any shortfalls in federal aid.

Sponsored and secured passage in 1974 of AB 2973 (Vasconcellos) which established the Community Services Fellowship Program that gives educational grants to students who do volunteer community work, similar to the G.I. Bill.

Sponsored AB 1538 (Alatorre) in 1974, which would have set up the Early Identification Program which would use college students to go out to counsel low income and minority students on financial aid and admission matters.

Successful lobbied the S.S. and L.C. to alter its proposed formula for selection of state scholarship winners. Means close to $1 million more in 1975-76 for UC students.

Actively supported AB 1031 (Vasconcellos), reforming the State Scholarship and Loan Commission ( now called the Student Aid Commission). Major reforms included adding two student seats on the Commission.
Affirmative Action

Provided major support for ACR 151 (Vasconcellos) directing the segments of higher education to strive toward approximating by 1980 the general ethnic, sexual and economic composition of high school graduates. Asks for plan that led to the UC Student Affirmative Action Plan.

Have actively worked with UC in the development of the Student Affirmative Action Program to indentify and recruit qualified ethnic minority and women students for admissions.

Worked through the legislature [sic] a $1.1 million state appropriation (AB 2412-Meade) – so be matched by %1.1 million in University funds—for the University’s new Student Affirmative Program. The funds were spent in 1975-77 on student aid, EOP support services and extended recruitment and outreach to high schools and junior high schools in California’s socio-economically disadvantaged areas.
UC Investment Policy

Vocal critic of UC’s proxy voting policies on stockholder resolutions on corporate social responsibility in invents.

Proposed a by-law change to the Regents in 1973-74 to allow for public meetings of their investment committee. Supported faculty in proposing a major review in 1976 of practices of other major institutions that choose to vote their stock in socially responsible ways. Curent practice is to vote all stocks with management.

Supported legislation in 1974, and again in 1975-76, authored by Senator Dunlap, which would have made the UC vote “neutral” on stockholder resolutions regarding issues of social responsibility.
Associated Students University of California

Sponsored SB 927 (Lagomarsino, 1972). This bill allows for the creation of an Isla Vista College Community Service District. It was signed into law in December 1972, prior to a recent Supreme Court decision on municipal incorporation this provided Isla Vista with its only viable local self-government option.

Sponsored SB 1009 (Lagomarsino, 1972). Appropriated $76,000 for UC to continue the Isla Vista police foot patrol during 1972-73 fiscal year. Signed into law August 1972.

Successfully lobbied to have ASUC’s removed from AB 4509 (Keene, 1974) which would have defined ASUC’s as “state agencies” for coverage under the state’s open meeting laws. Being a state agency would have meant that UC could have tighter control over student government. Instead, secured amendments in all ASUC constitutions to provide for open meetings.

Increasing Student Participation in University Governance
Post secondary Education Commission—Successfully lobbied Assembly Speaker Bob Moretti to appoint a UC student to the new Postsecondary Education Commission. This is the first time any student in California has been appointed to a state-wide board affecting higher education. The appointee, Seth Brunner, was reappointed for a 6 year term in 1976.

UC Committees—Successfully secured student representation on 12 Presidential advisory committees in UC. All students who are appointed are nominated by students through the Student Body President’s Council. As of 1976, the appointments no longer need confirmation by the President of the University.

Governance Study—Sucessfully lobbied the state-wide Univeristy administration to initiate a full scale study of the extend and quality of student participation in all phases of UC governance. The final report will appear early in 1977 after 2 ½ years of intense study.

Consultation on the University’s Budget – Worked continuously to secure increased student participation in the budget making process at UC. Students now have the opportunity to suggest augmentations, new programs, or modifications of the University’s half billion dollar budget before it is presented to the Regents and the State.
Collective Bargaining

Drafted and successfully amended every collective bargaining bill introduced in the California State Legislature since 1973, to allow a third party role for students in negotiations.

In 1975, when the potential for collective Bargaining for public employees became a reality under a Democratic governor, organized a statewide coalition of student groups to oppose faculty collective bargaining unless students are allowed to participate in negotiations.

Student Vote
In conjunction with every major election have organized successful voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives on college campuses. This has led to a substantial increase in the percentage of students voting.

Worked successfully to protect the integrity of campus student communities during the legislatures [sic] unsuccessful effort at reappointment during 1973. Secured changes in the only bill passed that protected the Isla Vista community near UC Santa Barbara. (The bill was later vetoed and the Supreme Court took jurisdiction of reapportioning the legislature.)

Housing
Sponsored AB 744 (Berman) which amends the Runford Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination in housing because of student status. The bill was defeated in Senate Finance.

Researched Possesory Interest Tax and the impact on student housing. Assisted campuses in efforts to avoid or lower the tax assessment.

Worked with a collation of Public interest groups to oppose the passage of AB 3788 (Campbell) prohibiting communities from passing rent control measures without the approval of the California Legislature. The bill passed both houses of the Legislature in 1976 but was vetoed by the Governor. 

1998-1999
The campaigns that Student Lobby worked on in 1998 included making UC Santa Barbara sweatshop free, the October 21-22 walk-out/teach-in to protest the lack of diversity on campus and the cost it has to student education, families who are being systematically evicted from their homes due to corrupt landlords in Isla Vista, prison reform, and UC teachers assistant strikes.

2003-2004 
Student Lobby’s efforts, accomplishments, and projects of 2003-2004.
Chair: Fernando Ramirez
E.V.P.S.A.: Jewel Love
State Affairs Organizing Director: Lance Tackett

Student Lobby re-emerged at this time after nearly becoming non -existent over the several years prior. Appointed Chair Fernando Ramirez set out to uplift the organization and make it strong again. During this academic year, Student Lobby did the following:

Worked to repeal Office of Student Life’s Parental Notification policy, which underhandedly violates student’s privacy rights by sending letters home to parents about their drinking/drug violations in Isla Vista.

We worked to renegotiate Coca-Cola’s monopolistic contract on our campus due to Cokes well-known human rights violations around the world, as well as to give Students at UCSB more consumer choice. We were able to get the Workers Rights consortium to investigate these alleged violations in Columbia in which they will present their finding to the UC. This issue stirred great interest within the organization and a Student Lobby Labor Coalition was started. The members ran a major awareness campaign about what is going on in Columbia, met with UCSB administration to speak about Coca- Cola’s contract on campus, communicated with national organizers on the campaign and worked with other UC’s and institutions in the state. Student Lobby also held a major rally, march, and die in on campus (VIDEO COMING SOON).

A primary focus for Student Lobby was on the State budget, fighting to prevent fee increases, to maintain financial aid levels, and to save outreach. Where the Governor had allocated Zero dollars to Outreach in the State budget, due to our efforts, and students efforts all around the state, Outreach funding was maintained at 33 million.  UCSB Student Lobby held a statewide press conference in Sacramento surrounding the budget. It was one of the biggest media events the University of California Students Association saw all year. Leading politicians such as Phil Angelides and Fabian Nunez, amongst others, students, and community members, all came to speak on behalf of education during this press conference
Student lobby took a delegation of 16 students to the UCSA Lobby day in Sacramento where we lobbied state legislators on major issues affecting higher education.

Student Lobby also helped to send eight students to Washington D.C. with the United States Student Association, lobbying on a federal level.

Student Lobby throughout the year met with local assembly and state senate members, discussing how to prioritize Education in the State of California.

We held approximately five rallies throughout the year, educating students on issues regarding Outreach, Killer-coke, and the need for an improved education system in the state.

We routinely met and negotiated with the Chancellor on the various ways to maintain outreach funding on our campus, and in Coalition with Student groups across campus, won a solid victory, ensuring that our Student Initiated Outreach Program would be heightened and maintained at 3 million as long as Henry Yang remains our chancellor.

Student Lobby attended various UC regents meetings, speaking out about tuition increases, and the loss of financial aid to low income students. We traveled around the state ensuring that the Student Voices from UCSB were being heard, loud and clear.

Student Lobby also helped in sending students to various conferences, gaining critical knowledge, as well as organizing and campaign implementation skills. We sent students to the UCSA Student of Color Conference, UCSA Lobby Conference, UCLGBTIA Conference, USSA Legislative Conference, “Not with Our Money” National convergence in Austin Texas, National Students Against Sweatshops conference in Georgia, and more.

Student lobby also worked with National Organizations and grassroots networks such as: the “Not With Our Money Coalition,” “Students Against Sweatshops,” “Killer-coke Campaign,” United States Student Association, PowerPac, California Statewide Affirmative-Action Coalition (CSAAC), University of California Students Association, and many more, as a means to ensure that we are effectively fighting to ensure that ALL students will have access to a higher Education, as well as ensuring that our institutions, in which we fund, are not perpetuating human rights violations or workers rights violations locally or internationally.

2004
Associated Students Student Lobby launched a “Fall Defensive” campaign, going door-to-door to every residence in Isla Vista in response to repeated reports of abuse of power exerted by the Isla Vista Foot Patrol and the UCPD.  This campaign was also in response to the IVFP “Fall Offensive” campaign targeting I.V. residents on the narrow police enforcement of alcohol laws and alcohol related issues, unreasonably fining students and handing out high priced citations.  Furthermore, Student Lobby responded to numerous accounts of police overstepping their authority, detaining, arresting, and mishandling students for no other reason than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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