Hey A.S. Council, good job!
At last night’s meeting, councilmembers voted to overwhelmingly approve a $35,408.37 allocation to UCSD’s four student-run co-ops. The funding ‘mdash; which was taken from the council’s mandate reserves ‘mdash; will cover co-op debt owed to the council, accrued years ago during their controversial master space agreement negotiations with the university. This much-needed support comes from a council that has remained largely uninvolved in the co-ops’ treacherous dealings with the university.
The Che Cafe, Groundwork Books, the General Store Co-op and the Food Co-op are student-run nonprofits, providing an array of valuable resources to students. As part of their self-sustaining, campus-improvement mission, the co-ops value lower prices over profit and funnel any revenue back into the Student Center community by hosting events and improving their in-shop lounge spaces for students. Because of this ideology, making up a years-old $35,000 debt (the validity of which is pretty nebulous) would pose a devastating and unrealistic burden.’
Absorbing this debt by dipping into mandate reserves is a pragmatic solution to the unfair position in which current co-oppers have been placed, and councilmembers should be applauded for their reasonable and swift action. By not using money from the student organizations unallocated fund, as was originally proposed, councilmembers shielded the rest of the student body from any impact this might have had on student org funding. Instead, the council exhibited sophisticated discretion, choosing to redirect money from its reserves to finally put this mess to rest.
The co-ops are an excellent resource ‘mdash; and not just for the Student Center community and the hundreds of undergraduates, grad students, staff and faculty who visit them daily. Sure, Groundwork’s cheap books, the Food Co-op’s cheap and healthy lunch options, the General Store’s awesome lounge (complete with old-school arcade games) and the Che’s all-age concerts are awesome, but you don’t have to visit the co-ops to benefit from their presence here at UCSD. As completely student-run entities, the co-ops provide an essential contrast to Price Center’s corporate aura, while advocating for student rights and providing a free-spirited, progressive-minded campus niche for students.
But it wasn’t just this editorial board that took notice of the council’s resourcefulness: ‘That was probably the most efficient decision we’ve made all year,’ outgoing A.S. President Donna Bean said as she thanked the council for coming together to address this issue.
Councilmembers deserve praise for the careful but prompt way they handled this request, and we’re ecstatic to see both effective governance and respect and support for these crucial campus entities.