Special Interests or Justified Spending?
Some people have pointed to specific student groups with direct ties to the ASUC and disproportionate funding. A proper journalist reports all data in question. This includes some of the ties to CalSERVE's recruitment and retention centers and Student Action's ties to the Greek community. Once again, this was taken from the 2005-2006 ASUC budget, which can be found at http://www.asuc.org
Black Recruitment and Retention Center: $37,480
Raza Recruitment and Retention Center: $37,230
Mecha de Berkeley: $3315
Berkeley Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan: $1470
(I bring up these two groups because they stand for the exact same thing: they are Spanish and English equivalents)
Native American Recruitment and Retention: $9,860
Pilipino Academic Student Services: $20,055
REACH! the Asian Pacific American Recruitment: $12,810
Before I am accused of being a racist, I strongly support recruitment and retention efforts, as do people all over the political spectrum from progressive CalSERVE senators and conservative UC Regent Ward Connerly. All of the bloggers on this blog are students of color and I am a proud activist in my community and I strongly identify with one of the groups which benefots from recruitment. However, the amount given to these groups questions the accountability of these groups, and how the money is being spent. After all, it was CalSERVE president Renita Chaney who commented, "If it's activism or some kind of fight they're looking for, then come here. But if education is what they're looking for, then don't come here."
Another area of interest is the comfortable amount that the Greek Philanthropy Fund received, $10,000. When all groups except a few notables were being cut, the Greek Philanthropy Fund got exactly what is requested. The Greeks are heavily Student Action. I am not an anti-Greek bigot (in fact I am a proud member of the Greek community), but asking questions leads us to possible answers.
Do these controversies show that the ASUC is in the pockets of special interests and vice versa?
posted by DTI @ 5:00 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Great blog, I hope you keep this one up, I've seen too many of my favorite blogs die out.
Taylor
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i'd like to know what community you come from, DTI. if you don't want to disclose it, that's okay.
on renita's comment: i feel like you're it out of context. i think she was referring to the campus climate surrounding the black community and what it is like to be one of a small population. i feel like she was trying to say that as a student of color, that person would be fighting this "battle" and that academics can't be the only thing you do on campus. and if they're just here for school, then they aren't feeling for the rest the struggles in their community.
on funding the rrcs: i feel like the rrc's are justified in the amounts that they get. some of them have actually been getting cut. it takes a lot of money to travel and outreach and to do the work that the university should be doing. i think student-initiated outreach is very commendable. i'm glad you support the rrc's efforts, and even though this might look like the asuc is in the pockets of special interests, i don't think so. i think that the asuc recognizes that this is a worthy cause--not to say that other's aren't.
and one more thing: i feel that many of the things that are being pointed out on this blog are because of the past asucs. a lot of the corruption that went on back then (even if only a year ago) isn't the fault of the current elected students. maybe you could talk to them personally. maybe you see something happening that's happened before, and you know how they can fix/change things.
i guess i'm just for giving people the benefit of the doubt? are you?
oh yeah.
i think this blog is putting out a lot of important information. while i don't necessarily believe that we should abolish the ASUC, this kind of "institutional knowledge" will give folks that don't know about the ASUC something to think about.
Of course I am for giving the benefit of the doubt... I gave the benefit of the doubt to Kris Primm's administration and Misha's administration (granted I didn't knwo what the ASUC was during the past administration), but somehow the institution itself prohibited people from doing their best. This year, it would be ideal to give the adiminstration the benefit of the doubt but you can only give the benefit of the doubt for so long. For anyone that thinks I'm partisan I equally distrust both parties.
Renita Chaney's comment was disheartening for people of color, especially those underrepresented. Anyone can go to a UC if they make it here, and to discourage blacks in any way from coming to Berkeley is saddening. Change only comes when people are truly behind the effort in all ways possible. Like I said, I am both a supporter of the rrc's and Greeks, but I think accontability should come first. Why, for example, does one RRC get more money than the other, even when the group getting less money is more underrepresented than the group getting more money? Is this because of some kind of quantitative need or it because of the power different groups play in the political struggle?
Existence of the above mentioned recruitment centers is outrageous. The whole concept of ASUC sponsoring them is racist and undemocratic. Something as serious would only be fair if the majority of the student body voted for it. As an immigrant from Eastern Europe I feel insulted and discriminated against by the ASUC's sponsoring such discriminatory clubs.
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