Senate establishes permanent student safety committee, discusses funding concerns

The 77th Associated Students Senate established a permanent student safety committee under the Office of the President at its Oct. 7 meeting, formalizing ongoing efforts to address student safety concerns at UC Santa Barbara. 

After being referred to the Advocacy Committee, the Senate unanimously passed the bill to establish a student safety committee, building upon the work the temporary committee established last year. 

According to the legislation, the committee will coordinate monthly public meetings with the UC Police Department, Isla Vista Foot Patrol (IVFP) and campus administrators. Its responsibilities will pertain to addressing student safety concerns, including theft, assault, bicycle safety and video monitoring. 

The committee will be made up of at least seven voting members, including the Office of the External Vice President for Local Affairs’ Police Liaison, and several non-voting members along with one career staff member appointed by Associated Students (A.S.) Executive Director Sean Lieberman.

External reports

During External Reports, Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Life Suzanne Perkin highlighted that the University will be piloting a new safety app, “SafeZone,” with hopes for it to go live in spring quarter. 

SafeZone, which is used globally by over 40 universities, will allow students to request emergency assistance and share their locations with campus personnel. Discussions surrounding the app’s implementation began last spring, with the temporary student safety committee involved in its planning. 

Senator and second-year physics major Alec GeoSimonian asked Perkin whether the University has plans to echo A.S.’s statement regarding Flock cameras, which condemned their use around the Santa Barbara area.  

“I wanted to ask if the University has any plans to make a similar statement surrounding these cameras given the attention that they’ve been receiving in the media, especially in regards to undocumented people, and the fact that we have a camera right outside Santa Catalina where a lot of international students reside,” GeoSimonian said. 

Perkin said she was unaware of any plans but emphasized that the University does not use Flock cameras and would pass along the suggestion for a formal statement on behalf of the Senate.  

Committee reports

During the committee reports, Senate Finance Committee Vice Chair and fourth-year economics and accounting major Faizaan Chunawala reported allocating around $65,000 of its $136,000 fall-quarter budget within the first two weeks.

Chunawala explained that 48% of the budget has gone toward fulfilling requests from several Boards, Committees and Units (BCUs) and sports teams at their previous meeting. 

“The funds are going fast, so first come, first serve,” Chunawala said. “We are doing our best to — not cut, but emphasize to groups to find other forms of fundraising before they come to us. And then also when they [do] come to us, making sure they’re looking at different quotes and finding ways to make [their requests] as cheap as possible.” 

The reduction in budget comes alongside A.S. discussions over expenses within the association. Internal Vice President and fourth-year sociology and psychological & brain sciences double major Victoria Ly urged senators to be mindful of the financial impact of the bills and resolutions passed — highlighting that they are permanent.  

“We’ve been going through the bills and resolutions pretty quickly, which is one: good for our time, but two: a lot of these are going to be implemented in legal code permanently and will affect future generations of [the] Senate and the association,” Ly said. “Some groups that are more project based, more of their funds are being used toward people working than actual projects, so that’s something to consider.” 

Ly emphasized that creating new positions can create recurring financial obligations through honoraria. She cautioned that growing personnel expenses could reduce the amount of funding available and potentially make raising student fees unavoidable. 

Legislation passed 

The Senate passed a resolution “Assuring the Safety and Welfare of All Students,” which states that A.S. is committed to protecting UCSB students and condemns “all forms of violent, physical, and sexual harassment and assault.”

Next, the Senate also passed a bill to update the University of California in Isla Vista Legal Code to include new positions for a treasurer, executive assistant and an additional board member.

The Senate passed a bill that institutionalizes the Isla Vista Farmer’s Market program in the Office of the External Vice President For Local Affairs Legal Code; it will also establish three positions: a director, vendor outreach coordinator and marketing coordinator. According to the legislation, the bill is aimed at supporting the “longevity” of the program.

Legislation proposed

Several bills were introduced and referred to different committees for further review. A bill to establish an Alumni & Donor Relations Committee under the Office of the President was referred to the Liaison Committee. 

The senate also referred a bill to update the Black Women’s Health Collaborative’s legal code to the Liaison Committee. The bill would change the spelling of Women to “Womyn” to reflect what “their founders wanted.” The bill would also add a senator on their non-voting membership.

A version of this article appeared on p. 4 of the Oct. 15 print edition of the Daily Nexus.