At their last meeting of the quarter on March 5, the Associated Students 75th Senate discussed housing with a county supervisor, resources for Deltopia and lock-in fee increase proposals. The meeting stretched into the night as senators deliberated approving meeting minutes over Mega Shabbat funding.
A resolution to add a referenda section to the Spring Election ballot also passed to assess student opinions on topics such as housing, food options and technology initiatives. Nexus File Photo
Many of the action items on the agenda were spurred by Deltopia, the upcoming annual unsanctioned street festival that saw over 20,000 attendees in 2024, and the Associated Students (A.S.) Spring Election, where executives, senators and lock-in fees will be voted on by the undergraduate student body.
Santa Barbara County (SBC) Second District Supervisor Laura Capps presented a plan to improve the quality of I.V. housing for students. The Isla Vista Rental Inspection Pilot Program will use money acquired from UCSB’s settlement over a lawsuit regarding lack of student housing.
Last year, SBC filed the lawsuit claiming that UCSB had violated its 2010 long range development plan by not offering sufficient housing for students amidst rising enrollment rates. The University paid a $3.7 million settlement for which the money will go towards improving infrastructure in Isla Vista.
Capps began her presentation by speaking about a lack of quality housing in I.V. and of accountability measures for landlords. She said she believes UCSB students deserve “so much more.” Of the $3.7 million that UCSB was mandated to pay the county, Capps said $600,000 will be allocated towards improving housing.
“I am appalled by the living conditions that students and other tenants and low-income families deal with in Isla Vista. It’s unacceptable. I think there’s price gouging, I think that there’s slumlords, I think that it should not be that way, and it doesn’t have to be that way,” Capps said.
She said funds will go towards improving roads, parks and lighting around the city and The Inspection Program, a new initiative which aims to uphold building health standards and landlord accountability.
District Representative Eleanor Gartner who was speaking with Capps said I.V. homes will be inspected as part of the program in July and August this year for problems such as mold, rodents, insects and missing smoke detectors. Following the inspections, landlords will be ordered to rectify any uncovered violations or face a fine.
Later in the meeting, A.S. External Vice President for Local Affairs and fourth-year history of public policy and law major Owen Meyers said it’s been two years since there have been safety stations or portable bathrooms on Del Playa Drive for Deltopia, during his executive report.
He alleges that the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office (SBSO) and Fire Department don’t want to place resource tents on Del Playa Drive and Sabado Tarde Road for Deltopia after the University of California in Isla Vista (UCIV) tent at Camino Pescadero Park was “overwhelmed” with unconscious people during Deltopia in 2023. Meyers said it was partly “overwhelmed” because SBSO dropped people off at the tent.
“[Lieutenant Garrett TeSlaa] said, I’ve just been doing this for 13, 14, years, much longer than you’ve been at UCSB. I know how this works I know why we don’t station on DP and he keeps referencing the incident from two years ago,” Myers said.
In addition, the restorative justice program will be suspended for the second year in a row.
“It honestly seems to me that they’re trying to take a deep enforcement approach,” Myers said. “This year, they’re going completely anti-harm reduction.”
He also said the UCIV team had 10 people at the time and there will be more personnel to handle this Deltopia, with 40 members.
Meyers said his office has the resources and funding needed to establish these tents, but ultimately, I.V. Foot Patrol (IVFP) and Lieutenant Garrett TeSlaa have to approve them. Another concern from SBSO that Meyers mentioned is that a tent would lead to crowding, which would obstruct the path of ambulances. Meyers argued that the tent would help alleviate the need for medical assistance since it would have Emergency Medical Technician resources.
Meyers said there will be more meetings regarding Deltopia between his office, IVFP and the university in the upcoming weeks. Senators expressed their concern over the “enforcement approach” since students may not know what resources are available and which are not.
Also at the meeting, Senators unanimously passed an act to minimize the amount of unspent money from lock-in fees contracts. Existing lock-in fees need to be reaffirmed every two years following the adoption of the fee. The Active Allocation Act will mean that money accrued through lock-in fees must be spent within the two years the lock-in fee was approved for. If it is not spent, it must be “given back to the students or reinvested in entities that are effective at providing student services,” at the discretion of the senate.
According to the act, there is almost $8 million in total carryforward funds. Carryforward refers to money that was unspent during a previous budget cycle that carries over into the next fiscal period. The act also states that it will be, “implemented through a gradual and structured approach” to give BCUs time to adapt.
Proposed by senators Taylor Iden, a fourth-year economics and communication double major and Sandhya Ganesh, a third-year film and media studies major, the act was created so that students are able to directly benefit from the fees they vote to allocate.
“Every dime a student puts in should yield a dime out. Carryforward funds are the antithesis of this promise,” the resolution read.
The senate also passed a resolution to add a proposed lock-in fee for a premium Grammarly subscription for all undergraduate students to the spring election ballot. If passed in spring, a fee of $4.34 for each quarter during the academic year and $1.99 for the summer will be drawn from each undergraduate student’s tuition.
Several Boards, Committees and Units (BCU) sought to increase their lock-in fees on the A.S. Spring Election ballot. The A.S. Food Bank proposed increasing their fee from $9.01 to $13 per quarter, while A.S. radio station KCSB-FM proposed an increase from $2.85 to $4.88 each quarter during the academic year and from $2.45 to $4.45 in the summer. Both ballot proposals were approved.
The Trans and Queer Commission (TQComm) proposed increasing their lock-in fee from $1.49 to $1.66 for the academic year, which failed to pass with 14 senators in favor, 10 against and one abstention, failing to meet the necessary two-thirds. Senators recommended TQComm spend its roughly $113,000 in rollover and request money from the A.S. Finance Committee before seeking an increase.
A resolution to add a referenda section to the Spring Election ballot also passed to assess student opinions on topics such as housing, food options and technology initiatives. For now, the questions remain the same as the resolution, although senators can decide to add or amend questions before the election.
“It’s the most direct means of engaging students and getting much higher participation,” senator and third-year history major Enri Lala said.
At around 1 a.m., Senator and fourth-year anthropology and history of art and architecture double major Caroline Lankarani questioned funding for Mega Shabbat, because they requested $65k from the Finance Committee in addition to $32k from the Isla Vista Community Relations Committee (IVCRC). The requested funding amounted to roughly $97k total from A.S. for the event. Mega Shabbat is hosted by Chabad — a synagogue in Isla Vista — and is a day of rest in the Jewish faith. The event is open to all members of the community.
“It seems like a lot of money for a singular event that only is serving about 1,200 people,” Lankarani said.
Lankarani made a motion to reject the March 4 IVCRC meeting minutes where Mega Shabbat funding was approved.
Senator and second-year global studies major Leah Khorsandi noted the high price of kosher food as well as other expenses such as hiring security and waiters. In addition Khorsandi pointed towards the importance of the event to the Jewish community and that it could not occur without this funding.
“A large portion of this funding, unfortunately, is going to security because anti-Semitism is very real, and that is something that Chabad has accounted for,” Khorsandi said.
Iden and third-year political science major Mingjun Zha said it was not the senate’s place to decide whether the funding should be given since IVCRC already approved it.
Ultimately, Lankarani apologized and rescinded the original motion to reject the meeting minutes, and the senate approved them, along with the funding for Mega Shabbat.
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