On Monday, November 27, the Associated Students Board at Santa Monica College voted unanimously in favor of a $500,000 proposal to build a Social Justice and Gender Equity Center (Gen-C) in the A.S. Cayton Student Center building on campus. This is the largest amount of money the A.S. has ever chosen to spend on a single item. The price tag includes an allocation of $84,800 for new furniture and $18,000 for a new paint job.
This Gen-C was included in the 2016-2017 Santa Monica College Master Plan for Education, and has even received support from the Academic Senate. This begs the question why no resources were offered or even hinted at by the school, considering that it was included at the forefront of the annual master plan for the college. Focus groups conducted by the administration demonstrate a continuous belief that the center is unnecessary and have repeatedly reached the conclusion that students feel safe and accepted on campus.
This leads one to assume that the administration has ulterior motives for the proposal of Gen-C. If there is no serious need for a program that will cost half a million dollars, then why propose it? One could reasonably assume that they are looking out for their own best interests and leaving the hefty bill to the students. After all, a new Social Justice Center will give the school much needed publicity.
Details surrounding the proposal have revealed a troubling lack of transparency and corruption on behalf of the Santa Monica College Administration. The proposal was submitted to the A.S. Board by Dr. Nancy Grass, Dean of Student Life at Santa Monica College, and then quickly and quietly rubberstamped by the brand new A.S. Finance Committee. The pushing of such a large proposal in the fall semester by an administrative member to a new A.S. Board, while not illegal, suggests blatant exploitation of a governing student body that is still “learning the ropes.”
The Associated Students of Santa Monica College is an independent body with its own bank account consisting of student donations provided in exchange for A.S. services. Annually, the A.S. raises approximately $2 million in funds to spend in the best interest of the students it represents. Unfortunately, the one-year term in office does not give students much time to “learn the ropes.”
The fact that multiple reports have shown no serious need for a program that will cost half a million dollars should be and was of concern to multiple students during the meeting in which the proposal was voted on. Ben Kolodny, the student who initiated a petition against the Gen-C — which garnered over 400 signatures over a holiday weekend, was ejected from the meeting after challenging the board on the basis of parliamentary procedures. The board had repeatedly refused to allow Kolodny and others to exercise their right to ask questions and make comments throughout the meeting. Police officers attempted to bar Kolodny’s re-entry.
Additional dissenting views, many from former A.S. board members, including former A.S. president Jesse Randel who called the board out on their lack of transparency, were immediately written off as personal attacks against DACA and LGBTQ students. Randel was also ejected from the meeting.
Kolodny promised to continue fighting the policy. Action will also be carried out regarding the substantial violations throughout the duration of the Monday meeting.
Read more about the ongoing battle at https://www.savethecaytoncenter.com.