CLARIFICATION [9/27/2024, 2:35 p.m.]: A previous version of this article stated that authors of the ethical spending bill did not consider the legal aspect of implementation. This article has been updated to clarify that Policies Applying to Campus Activities, Organizations and Students (PACAOS) violations specifically were not considered prior to when the bill passed.
A bill passed by the Associated Students 75th Senate prohibiting its allotted budget of student fees from being used to purchase from companies on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions list has been put on pause after initial plans to go into effect on July 1. Announcements from student senators explained the change in timeline is due to legal concerns regarding using the use of student funds in a non-neutral standpoint. Senators said the bill must be restructured to comply with federal, state and University of California laws when implemented in a Sept. 12 association-wide email.
The bill currently violates PACAOS 86.30 — Campus Procedures and Criteria to Assure Viewpoint Neutrality. Nexus file photo
“A Bill To Ensure Ethical Spending Practices Within ASUCSB,” which passed on June 5, prohibits Associated Students (A.S.) funds from being used to “purchase, order, reimburse, fundraise from” or promote products or vendors found on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement’s list.
The BDS movement is a Palestinian-led global organization that aims “to end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law,” according to their website. The movement follows ongoing violence taking place in Gaza, with their website stating, “Israel is occupying and colonising Palestinian land, discriminating against Palestinian citizens of Israel and denying Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homes.”
Third-year computer science major and College of Engineering Senator Aryaman Singh announced in a July 1 email that the bill will be going into effect that same day — the start of the University of California fiscal year. However, the Association has since backtracked.
A.S. President and third-year political science and sociology double major Nayali Broadway said after the implementation announcement was made by Singh, she and A.S. Executive Director Marisela Marquez met with the senators heading the bill, only to find that no solid implementation plan had been formulated nor was there consideration for the possibility of Policies Applying to Campus Activities, Organizations and Students (PACAOS) violations.
“In that meeting, they realized that they didn’t have an implementation process yet. So when we were moving forward with planning for that, we were in talks with our campus legal counsel, just because it would be illegal for us to use student fees in a non-neutral standpoint,” Broadway said in an interview with the Nexus.
In particular, the university and the A.S. department must be in compliance with all Federal, State, Regent, [UC Office of the President], PACAOS, and all other applicable regental policies,” Broadway said in a Sept. 12 association-wide email.
The bill currently violates PACAOS 86.30 — Campus Procedures and Criteria to Assure Viewpoint Neutrality. The policy states that campuses must ensure student governments remain “view-point neutral” in nature when allocating student fees. This means “they must be based upon considerations which do not include approval or disapproval of the viewpoint of the Registered Campus Organization.” According to Singh, violating this policy may also lead to a loss of federal funding.
Currently, the companies the bill would prohibit include Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Chevron Corporation, McDonald’s, Nestlé, Papa Johns Pizza and more. According to the bill, they are “complicit in upholding Israel’s apartheid regime, occupation, and ongoing genocide of Palestinians.” The bill states that groups which fail to comply with this policy may not receive reimbursements, face transgression fees and be temporarily suspended from using A.S. funds.
According to Broadway, A.S. elected officials are working with the executive director, Office of Campus Legal Counsel and UC Student Government leaders from other campuses to determine pathways to legally implementing the bill and avoiding “potential unintended consequences.” Until then, its enforcement is “paused temporarily.”
In a Sept. 13 association-wide email response to further questions about transparency from fellow senators, third-year philosophy and political science double major and First Senate President Pro-Tempore Dan Siddiqui, fourth-year art major and Internal Vice President Açúcar Pinto and Singh said despite working with administration in the months since the bill passed to implement it, delays halted progress. It is unclear the exact nature of the delays ascribed to administrative staff.
“The process has been slower than expected, largely due to administrative delays and the complexities of coordinating with campus leadership. It’s important to clarify that this pause is not due to a lack of student initiative or effort,” the email read.
“The previous email sent out to the student body did not reflect the transparency we aimed for. We feel it is important that students are fully informed about the ongoing efforts and challenges surrounding the bill’s implementation,” the email continued.
According to the elected officials, through these discussions, the Association is considering rewriting the bill to change its language. Throughout the process they are seeking advice from other UC campuses which have similar bills. A.S. is also planning sessions to educate its members about why they should be spending ethically.
Broadway said A.S. hopes to come up with a plan in the next few weeks. She said their goal through it all is to maintain transparency with the student body.
