Want free money? USAC is literally giving it away

The Bruin Standard shows you how to take back your student fees with help from your friendly neighborhood student government

In light of the recent California budget crisis and the fee increases for the UC system, The Bruin Standard thought it would be prudent to look into how our student money is being used. If you need some pocket cash, and you have two friends, you’re in luck.
The student government offers many different types of funding for student groups, but the one that we should be concerned about is the Student Organizations Operational Fund (SOOF). According to the guidelines on the website, the money is to be used for retreats, graphics, “assistance”, advertising, and supplies.
Assistance appears to mean a stipend that can be paid to a member of your organization, but keep in mind that there are very stringent guidelines. For example: “No more than ten (10) members of each organization shall receive a stipend” and “Each stipended officer shall receive a minimum of $25 quarterly.”
The purpose of the stipend portion of SOOF is to pay an organization member for their service to the organization. After applying for the stipend, the member will receive a check from the student government, which they can cash…and then use for anything they want.
No receipts are required for what is purchased with the stipend, there appears to be little or no oversight given to what happens to our student fees after they have been cashed.
SOOF allocations for this year total $117,771, and up to 60% of this money could be used for stipends. The Bruin Standard interviewed one organization that was the recipient of stipends, who said that their officer receives $200 per quarter, which is generously donated back to the club to purchase beer. In addition, they said there was no budgetary review meeting to see where this money is going.
So, if anyone wants some extra pocket money, setting up student organizations is pretty easy. The potential for this abuse is huge, and although one would hope that Bruins are honest when requesting money, with no controls, this is ripe for misuse of our funds.
Even though we voted to raise our own fees last spring by passing PLEDGE, students are rightfully upset about the Regents’ fee increases. However, we can hold our own student government accountable and actually make sure the fees we do pay are put to good uses.
Student organizations can be created by bringing three signatories to a short 45 minute meeting, filling out contact information and a club constitution. SOOF applications are slightly lengthier. However, the average SOOF allocation is $790, so if 60% can be used for stipends, this could be worth your time.
There are restrictions on how much each individual officer can receive, but up to ten members can receive a stipend and each one is at minimum $25. It is unclear how much this has already been abused or how many student organizations know about this loophole, but there is hope yet that our student government will make sure that our fees (which are already high enough) are not being wasted.
This lack of oversight could be costing students a lot of money in fees, so students must demand that this loophole be closed.
To USAC’s credit, there is a process where you can request your fees back. Go to http://www.usac.ucla.edu/funding/misc.php and find the ‘Compulsory Fee Refund Application’. With the rising costs of our UCLA education, it would make sense that if your fees are used in a manner you do not agree with, you should have some portion of them back. With the recent protests, it is obvious that students are outraged about the high cost of education, so take the opportunity to get some fees back. After all it’s our university, so let’s start taking it back by taking our fees back.