For any ballot measure to pass, 25 percent of undergraduate students must vote. That’s 4,453 students.
Last year, just 13.3 percent or 2,169 undergraduate students voted. Unless voter turnout doubles this year, none of the measures on the ballot will pass.
If you want to create change on campus, the answer is clear — vote.
After a week-long delay to the voting period, the ballot is now open until Friday May 31. This year’s ballot gives students the power to fund theater and advocacy education. It also asks for student’s perspectives on TAPS and administration, a new resource center, and sustainability programs on campus. Find your ballot and make your voice heard at elections.ucsc.edu.
Measure 80: Theater Arts Production Fee
Students currently pay $2 per quarter to support Theater Arts programming on campus. Measure 80 would add an additional $5, totaling to $7 per quarter, or $21 annually. This amendment would continue to subsidize the cost of Theater Arts performance tickets for UC Santa Cruz undergraduates, while providing $188,186 in additional funding to counteract the inflation of production costs such as costumes and lights.
Measure 81: Investing in Impact: Right Livelihood Student Activism Fee
Right Livelihood College is a program at UCSC based out of the Institute for Social Transformation. The program hosts conferences and events where students hear from international change-makers and learn from the human rights and environment-focused missions of the organization. This measure asks voters to approve a new $3.89 quarterly fee to support the Right Livelihood College’s programs.
SUA Constitutional Amendment
Most of the proposed changes in this amendment adapt existing language to reflect current campus operations. This includes better describing the diverse leadership structures of organizations on campus, including changing references to the Student Alliance of North American Indians to Student Alliance of Native American Indians (SANAI). It would also more accurately describe the SUA’s proceedings. Additionally, it adds an international student representative and student-parent representative to SUA.
Opinion Poll: Future Funding Measure for UCSC Climate Coalition
UCSC Climate Coalition is a student organization that holds events including the annual Climate Conference at Rachel Carson College and the Earth Day Teach-in. The organization advocates for decarbonization on campus. This poll gauges student approval for potential programs and fees related to the UCSC Climate Coalition.
The first question asks if voters would support an expansion of extracurricular activities related to learning about climate issues. The poll then inquires if there should be a measure on the 2025 ballot about providing funding for UCSC Climate Coalition events and what amount voters would be willing to pay if there was a fee.
Opinion Poll: Resource Centers
UCSC resource centers, including the African American Resource and Cultural Center (AARC), American Indian Resource Center (AIRC), Asian American and Pacific Islander Resource Center (AAPIRC), Chicanx Latinx Resource Center (El Centro), Lionel Cantú Queer Center, and Womxn’s Center, provide valuable resources for diverse student populations on campus.
This poll asks if voters would support a measure funding resource centers on a future ballot and asks voters the maximum amount they would be willing to pay if there were a resource center fee. Finally, students will be able to voice their support or disapproval on the creation of a Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) resource center, which would serve Middle Eastern students on campus.
Opinion Poll: Student Participation in Campus Governance
The Student Union Governance Board originally envisioned this poll as a ballot measure that would have asked voters to approve a student-chaired commission to bring greater accountability for TAPS.
However, it appears on the ballot as an opinion poll because the original draft was not approved by the University of California Office of the President. The poll asks voters to rank their agreement with five statements about accountability of UCSC administrators to students. Voters are asked to select whether they strongly disagree, disagree, agree, or strongly agree with each.
For more information on the extensive revision to SUGB’s referendum, click here.
