Associated Students President Sophia Armen drafted a letter to the UC Board of Regents on Friday, requesting that the board hold their next meeting at UCSB.

In her letter, Armen called on University officials to hold the UC Board of Regents meeting being held on May 13 and 14 at UCSB to allow for greater student accessibility. Gov. Jerry Brown, UC President Mark Yudof, Board Chair Sherri Lansing and the rest of the Regents were asked by Armen to respond to her by 5 p.m. today.

According to Armen, there needs to be increased and more open communication between UC regents and students, as past student involvement in the addressing the University’s financial woes has resulted in real change.

“Especially after the passage of Proposition 30, which can largely be attributed to students getting out the youth vote, for us, as students, to be continually shut out of the decision-­making process is unacceptable,” Armen said in an email. “We are at a historic moment for public higher education in California — for the first time in history students are paying more for their education than their State is…”

External Vice President of Statewide Affairs Nadim Houssain said demands for a UC Regents meeting on campus would allow students to directly voice their concerns regarding the current state affordability of higher education.

“If we don’t try to reach out to them, we have no excuse to be frustrated,” Houssain said. “Students will have more access to Regents during the meeting itself … more opportunities to speak during public forum before meetings.”

While the Regents have been hesitant to transfer their meetings to other locations in the past, Houssain said a UC Regents meeting at UCSB is a “relatively feasible” goal, although there may still be some concern over student protests occurring.

 

A version of this article appeared on page 1 of April 23rd, 2013′s print edition of the Daily Nexus.

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