Fee Transparency Project

Present: Brynna Downey, Andy Hunyh, Bara Mudita, Charlene Proo, Gloria Qiu, Lisa Bishop, Maryann Godje, Mathew Sarti, Stephanie Herrera, Vivian Pham, Kayla Gomez, Lydia Jenkins-Sleczkowski, Emily Montano, Bara Mudita

Guests: Derek Martin (Sustainability office), Hannah Rouland (KZSC), Sierra Grindstaff (KZSC)

Welcome and Introductions
1. SFAC Community Agreements
Approval of Agenda and 2/7/2022 Minutes
1. Maryann motions to approve the agenda, Andy seconds. Motion passes.
2. Charlene motions to approve the minutes, Maryann seconds. Motion passes.
Announcements & Updates
1. Extra Winter Meeting Times
  1. Sundays 2-3pm
  2. Tuesdays 7-8pm
  3. Extending Monday meetings until 3:30
2. Other announcements
  1. Lydia explains how every year we get to vote on existing campus based fees. Every year they are voted on by the students. This year we are hoping to have them on the ballot again and have two ballot representatives today and this is a chance to ask questions and learn more about these ballots.
  2. Campus elections information: https://deanofstudents.ucsc.edu/elections/index.html
Spring 2022 Referendum Presentations with guest Travis Becker (2:00 pm)

Sustainability office:

1. Derek talks about Fee Measure 74 which is a fee measure to support sustainability measures on campus.
2. Fee Measure 74 is a continuation of Fee Measure 45, which was a $2.75 undergraduate student fee assessed each quarter. Will continue these efforts and cover the same activities of Measure 45 with small changes. Planning on only having a small portion of one staff’s salary.
3. Able to hire 268 students over a ten year period and able to provide 25 different professional growth and conference opportunities. Seeing good engagement numbers in ways to develop students. Majority of these funds went to student employment (paying for their salary and their benefits)
4. On campus employment allows us to prep our students of what comes after college whether this be about trustability, mamagne time, project management, etc
5. Annual Sustainability and Social Justice Inter-Organizational Retreat occurs every year and allows to share knowledge and very rewarding for the students
6. Office has been able to innovate and experience short falls. Created a new full time position, not being funded by this fee measure. Expanded full time office as well. Sponsored fall 2020 global conference on Sustainability in Higher Education
7. Able to retain some students jobs impacted by COVID-19
8. However, had to cut back on traditional offerings such as reducing programmatic budgets for student teams, reduce support for departmental sustainability projects employing undergraduates and student staff reduced from an average of 27 to 18
9. 2/3 of sure asking students what is an important attribute when picking a school picked sustainability
10. For the next 10 years we estimate 250 students will be employed through our office
  1. Can train thousands of undergraduates to leave with knowledge of climate change
  2. Students is an important part of our direction of our work and they help shape our topic on conversation
11. Proposed fee measure will begin Fall 2022. Each year there will be a 14 cent escalation for the price of fee measure. After the summer quarter of 2032, this will sunset and will have to go through this process again to ask for a new fee measure
12. Vast majority of fee measures will go through student employment. If staff salary and benefits is not needed will use that money to increase the number of students we can hire each year
13. Questions and Discussion
  1. Mathew asks in the example fee list i didn't see an example for 2023
    1. Derek replies it is coming into effect next fall
  2. Brynna asks if you look at the list of undergraduate and campus based fees similar to the graduate based fees, curious what goes through the thought process of having only undergraduate fees?
    1. Derek replies because undergraduates is their target population and thinking about paying for this fee measure, it seems like undergraduates will be getting the most out of it
  3. Derek's email: [email protected]. Can contact him with questions or concerns.

KZSC

1. Hannah explains what KZSC is, a radio established in 1969 that programas 24/7 to 3 counties including Santa Cruz
2. KZSC Fee Language
3. Explains that KZSC maintains a 24/7 broadcast and FCC compliance and many other things and events
4. KZSC’s permanent budget is about 80k each year and actual real expenses are 250k. KZSC’s remaining funds are self generated through the business it runs including studio bookings, merchandise sales, etc.
5. Because we are unfunded, this leaves group of students from participating long term at KZSC including 1st generation students, POC+BIPOC, and transfer students
6. About 33 at KZSC Governing board and only five of them are paid leaving pressure for the five of these board members.
7. Unpaid student staff put in more than a 2000 hours of labor in a year
8. Can do more with a paid staff team such as being more inclusive and represent a greater population
9. 16 different currently unpaid positions would be supported by this fee
10. Fee will begin Fall 2022 leaving with almost 120k for KZSC
11. Sue asks how many of the students involved in the station are graduate students?
  1. Hannah does not know the exact amount, a very small number.
  2. Sierra answers graduate students have participated as interns. Currently we do not have anyone working on projects at the moment. Right now volunteer positions are based on Spring elections. With the paid position we will have folks apply.
12. Questions and Discussion
  1. Brynna asks 3.50 fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer and will have explicit language for Summer?
    1. Hannah clarifies this as correct
  2. Brynna asks if you have been to the SUA or GSA?
    1. Sara replies that they are planning to
  3. Matthew said he liked it
  4. Kayla likes the presentation and KZSC always puts together a good prevention in general every year and ilke how they were stressing the point how it it would relief some of the pressure of the folks that do get paid and relief the workload and we can all recognize unpaid labor
  5. Andy comments I think you could insert more testimonies for ppl to see the impact of kzsc
    1. Kayla agrees
  6. Stephanie comments how GSA will have a second meeting coming up and KZSC can get on the next agenda.
    1. Contact information for GSA. [email protected] Isaac Karth
    2. Sierra thinks she has GSA down for February 17 at 5PM
  7. Hannah's email/ Sierra's email
13. Funding Call Deliberations
  1. Alvin is not strongly opposed to supporting
  2. Mathew asks do we vote as a group for support?
    1. Brynna replies yes
  3. Lydia comments how in previous years the group has done straw pools of what parts of each preenation or initiative the group might agree or disagree with.
  4. Sue was surprised how KZSC increased were they were asking for, basically tripled
  5. Brynna comments how most of their funding has came from SFAC
14. Ratings worksheet
15. Discussion
  1. Appropriate uses of SSF and M7 funds
  2. Inappropriate for SSF funds
  3. Finalizing 1-22
  4. Proposals 23-43
    1. Mathew asks if he can summarize Sunday’s deliberation
      1. Brynna comments how they made 4 office numbers and commented on some proposals
      2. Mathew summarizes Sunday’s deliberation proposals
    2. Alvin motions to approve the suggested amounts in the yellow squares, Andy seconds. No objections, motion passes.
  5. #15 Arts Professional Pathways:
    1. Mathew remembers they don't have a budget sheet and how they did not follow the instructions. Is it justified on our ends committee to not consider them because they didn't meet the requirements?
      1. Alvin thinks the budget sheet is crucial for us and what we would like to fund for our proposal. Without the budget sheet, it will not work out.
    2. Brynna sks if not having a budget sheet is a deal breaker?
    3. Alvin motions to not fund arts professional pathways, sue seconds. No objections, motion passes.
  6. #2: Graduate Student Professional Development:
    1. Sue asks how many graduate student proposals are there?
      1. Brynna answered she had not counted. Not too many, more undergraduate ones.
      2. Alvin comments how they are okay with any amount of partial funding. Suggest to give them 5k

Sue agrees with Alvin

- - - 1. Alvin motions to fund Graduate Student Professional Development $5,000 with no stipulations, Sue seconds. No objections, motion passes.
  1. #1: The Research Center for the Americas:
    1. Sue asks, doesn't it seem like partial funding is possible? So is it all or nothing?
      1. Brynna answers they did think it was an all or nothing deal
    2. Alvin comments they do say they would take any amount of partial funding, they'd just reduce staff hours
    3. Sue asks if they have a mechanism for raising rest?
      1. Brynna replies they have no other support to pay for staff salary
    4. Brynna does not think they are offering student stipends on this one
    5. Lisa asks if this is an all or nothing then think about this priority against all other requests because this will use about 40% of remaining funds?
      1. Brynna replies it is not this case of all or nothing anymore because they okay with any amount of partial funding
    6. Andy motions to not fund The Research Center for the Americas, Alvin seconds. No objections, motion passes.
  2. #7 UCSC iGEM 2022 Team Funding Request:
    1. Alvin comments how last year we funded them very little
    2. Alvin motions to not fund UCSC IGEM 2022, Charlene objects to table.
    3. Charlene asks if SFAC funded them at all?
      1. Andy replies we did but it wasn't suffice to run the program and this year minimum is higher
      2. Charlene adds in they won
      3. Sue is confused from this request and usually gives them $500 if they request
    4. Charlene is confused as well

Adjournment
1. Charlene motions to adjourn, Alvin seconds. No objections, meeting adjourned.

Upcoming Guests/Topics:

Summer Campus-Based Fee Levels (February 21st and 28th)
Elimination of CBF Policy (Lisa and Diane Lallemand)
DSAS Space Initiative (Lucy)
SUGB, Student Union Governance Board
On The Margins, Daniela Obeso (coaching, care circle)