SUA Spotlight is a weekly that reports on the meetings of the Student Union Assembly, the governing body of UC Santa Cruz. The SUA meetings are held every Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. at Bay Tree Bookstore Conference Room D and are open to the public.
Last night, SUA met to debate a number of ballot measures for the upcoming spring elections. In particular, they voted to determine whether Measures 38 and 40 would be decided by the greater student body in May.
As reported last week, Measure 38 is an attempt to more directly utilize the allocations from student fees that have been used to purchase carbon offset credits since the passing of Measure 28 in 2006.
Measure 38 would instead use Measure 28’s $3 quarterly fee to invest in green energy on campus forthwith, essentially eliminating the bureaucratic middle man and putting UC Santa Cruz’s carbon footprint back into its own hands.
The other measure discussed last night was Measure 40, a proposed $6 quarterly increase to extend OPERS facility hours, was also shot down, citing the rate hike.
In addition, SUA members voted on an amendment to their constitution that would exclude student organizations from voting at future Student Union meetings.
The debate over this amendment held the floor for much of the two-hour meeting, as seasoned union members weighed in on the matter. It felt like every time the meeting was about to move on to the next topic of discussion, a motion was made to extend the argument further.
When all was said and done, the proposed amendment was not ratified, allowing student organization such as Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan (MEChA) and The Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Network, also know as The Network, to continue to have a vote in the SUA.
