The voting percentage in the ASUCI election, which includes a referendum for Basic Needs funding, remains around 10% — far below the 20% required for fee referenda to pass.
Unless you vote in the ASUCI election to help Basic Needs Center reach a 20%quorum by 5 p.m. Friday.
The existing Basic Needs Center fee will end at the conclusion of this school year. Undergraduate students currently have the opportunity to vote in the ASUCI election to fund the Basic Needs Center through a $15 quarterly fee, of which a portion goes back to financial aid. This fee was created to not only sustain programs the Basic Needs Center provides, but expand its services such as pantry hours, emergency grants and food availability.
The projections, if the referendum does not pass, are catastrophic for our campus: cuts to the majority of Basic Needs programming such as Budget Bites, Economic Crisis Response Grants, grocery cards, gas cards, and more. These services are essential for students at many points of their academic career, whether they are in crisis or simply just need additional support.
I have been in several meetings about Basic Needs Center funding. The University is trying to figure out ways to support Basic Needs Center. But the lost fee money would be almost 10% of the current Basic Needs Center budget. Whatever we may think about the fact that UC Irvine relies on student referenda to fund support services — believe me, I am not a fan of that model generally — the reality is we currently find ourselves in a budget situation here and nationally in which this is our only option.
Every one of you likely knows someone who uses the Basic Needs Center. Last year, 7,115 UC Irvine students used Basic Needs Center resources, including 508 who used grocery cards, 250 who used gas cards, and 125 who used emergency grants. You may have interacted with the Center out on Ring Road for a quick question about CalFresh assistance or simply just wanting a snack before going to class.
This referendum is not an abstraction. It’s the grocery card that allowed your friend to eat lunch yesterday, the emergency grant that allowed your classmate to get necessary medical care, the funding that kept a roof over your head when you would have otherwise had to sleep in your car. Whether or not you have ever needed these services, you may one day. And even if you don’t, someone you know will likely need them.
Vote in the election by 5 p.m. Friday. It takes less than five minutes and is the difference between a Basic Needs Center that can support you and one that will be struggling to survive.
Editor’s Note: This article was edited on April 17 at 11:05 a.m. to correct typo and grammatical errors.
Amelia Roskin-Frazee is a sociology Ph.D candidate. She can be reached at aroskinf@uci.edu.
