University of California Los Angeles - Bruin Life / Southern Campus Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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SLC? No, it ' s not a spoonful of letters from a bowl of Alphabet Soup. But just what is it, anyway? Well . . . SLC is the Student Legislative Council. Now you may wonder, what ' s that thing all about? Actually, the recipe for an SLC is quite simple: take one President, add two Vice-Presidents, stir in three General Representatives, and season with seven Commissioners. (Note: above ingredients must be minimum Grade C undergraduate students in good standing). There are also three non-students thrown in for good measure: a representative from the Academic Senate, one from the Alumni Association, and a spokesman for the Chancellor. (Naturally, we don ' t vote on these folks-we just add them in). To top off the creation, garnish with two final ingredients: one student chairman of the Finance Committee (he watches over the recipe ' s budget), and one Executive Director of ASUCLA (he appears in the recipe only on rare Occasions-usually when the pot ' s about to boil over). These last two folks are what you call ex-officio members of SLC which in English means they don ' t vote-they just talk and spice things up a bit. When you throw them all together, you get a Student Legislative Council, plain and simple. Only it ' s not always so plain or so simple. You see, each year the recipe comes out just a bit different than before. Some times you might end up with a watered-down broth, while other years you ' d think you had a pot of chile on your hands. This years batch was, well, basically a middle-of-the-road stew, although they did have their spicy moments. Anyway, enough of this culinary funny business ... let ' s get on to the meat of the subject. . . . . 16 Organizations

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Organization 15

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. . . politics at UCLA have become a big, loud, and colorful rite each Spring. In fact, if it weren ' t for that even bigger, louder, and more colorful event, Mardi Gras, (which has an uncanny way of happening simultaneously), undergraduate elections would be even more noticeable than they already are. At UCLA the month of April brings not only showers of rain, but also a downpour of buttons, campaign literature, Bruin Walk billboards, and all the other paraphernalia and hoopla that is part of election fever here on campus. (Remember, that ' s when you have to dodge those crazy human sandwich signs to avoid the flood of campaign leaflets as you traverse Bruin Walk). It ' s really quite a scene. But campaigning is only the first step. For after all the votes are in and counted, and the new crop of decision-makers are sworn into office, that ' s when it all begins. This year ' s Council, as in the past, was headquartered in the top floors of Kerckhoff Hall; in fact, the 1978-79 Student Legislative Council marked its 60th year as UCLA ' s chief undergraduate governing body. SLC followed tradition as it met through the Summer months to develop plans and ideas for the upcoming year, and to adopt its annual budget (nearly half of a million dollars); somewhere in there they also found time to go on a Retreat. By the time most of us returned for Fall Quarter, in fact, SLC had already established most of its goals - as well as a character all its own. This 60th Council Session contrasted significantly with past years, especially when it comes to the question of whose in charge. In past years the council President has usually had a free hand to run the whole show-no questions asked. But this year ' s group had its share of maverick-types who felt that responsibilities should be more decentralized, more evenly spread out. In the end, it seems that the mavericks won the majority over - at least for this year. But if all that seems like too much political jargon, consider some of the concerns that were most important to this year ' s group. As in the past, the Student Legislative Council worked hard to gain the student vote in the Academic Senate. The Lobbies and others vigorously fought tuition hikes which loomed even more menacingly due to Proposition 13. There was a lot of concern - and effort - over the outrageous housing crunch in Westwood. And of course the parking problem wasn ' t ignored either, except this year ' s emphasis was more on transportation alternatives rather than just more parking structures. Council worked on the question of an on-campus Pub (yes, it is coming), and it also wrestled with the ancient proposal for a Bank on campus (it ' s probably coming, but don ' t hold your breath). Of course we had Ackerman Movies (still one dollar a head ), the Speakers Program, concerts, and the Coffee House Entertainment. There was the Newspaper Recycling Program, the Consumer Protection Project, and the Village Food Co-op. The Community Service Commission also brought us its whole family of community related outreach efforts (despite an amazing effort by the Administration to swallow up these programs for themselves). Campus Safety. Financial Aids. Communications. Student Health. The Wooden Center. They got their share of attention too. If all this sounds like serious stuff, it is. But that ' s not to say that SLC didn ' t have its lighter side-and even its downright funny moments. And then there were the times when SLC was the butt of the joke, only not too many people were laughing. Like the time when the Daily Bruin caught President Dean Morehous with his pants down (and his campaign buttons up); and when those Morehous Recall Petitions and Impeachment flyers virtually swamped the campus. Or when you could practically flip a coin to guess whether SLC would get a quorum in any given week. And how about when those $1,800.00 Special Elections occurred so frequently they almost became annual practice runs. Or when you couldn ' t quite keep track of how many vacancies there actually were on Council. But through it all, SLC managed to pull it off. And they even did so in public, such as when they held their weekly meetings in places like the Rieber Hall Fireside Lounge. In this way student government showed its best side - its human side. That ' s the side where people (and students) make mistakes - and where you usually learn from them. It ' s a funny thing, student government. Kind of like that Bank commercial - you know, the one ' s you don ' t have to think about. Here at UCLA we go about our business and don ' t give much thought to a lot of things. We take them for granted. But end Ackerman Movies, cancel Mardi Gras, stop the Speakers Program, drop the Experimental College. Silence the student voice in the Academic Senate, at the Regent ' s Meetings, and in Murphy Hall. Throw in the towel on the parking problem, the housing shortage, Student Health. Forget the Bank, the Pub, and all the rest. Then you ' d notice SLC. Then you ' d know what they ' re all about. And then we wouldn ' t have to tell you what they do, because you ' d know for yourself. And besides, if we didn ' t have student government, we ' d be stuck with a different problem. Because then what would the Daily Bruin put on its front page?