Whereas, the Associated Students of the University of California, Irvine (ASUCI) is a student government that supports positive initiatives that are organized by students; and,

Whereas, ASUCI strives to enhance the overall campus experiences for all UC Irvine undergraduate students; and,

Whereas, it is the duty of ASUCI to acknowledge students’ concerns and push for solutions to solve these issues; and,

Whereas, ASUCI has been working closely with the UC Irvine Student Outreach and Retention Center (SOAR) Center ever since its establishment in 2011; and,

Whereas, the Student Outreach and Retention (SOAR) Center at UC Irvine benefits support and enrich the academic, personal, and social experiences of students attending the University of California, Irvine; and,

Whereas, SOAR is committed to the outreach, retention, and successful graduation of every undergraduate student at UC Irvine; and,

Whereas, SOAR is a space for students to study, network, and engage in the planning and implementation of student initiated programs; and,

Whereas, SOAR advises and supports student initiated academic preparation programs for underrepresented students; and,

Whereas, SOAR engages and encourages partnerships and collaborations across the UCI campus; and,

Whereas, the SOAR Center implemented a new goal to reduce hunger amongst UCI students by providing non-perishable food items through the SOAR Food Pantry; and,

Whereas, SOAR staff keeps track of the inventory of the food; and,

Whereas, the SOAR Food Pantry opened in October 2015 to all undergraduate students in need of food; and,

Whereas, the Director of the SOAR Center Graciela Fernandez has oversight to ensure that all SOAR Food Pantry practices in dealing with food supplies are in compliance with Second Harvest guidelines and all applicable university health, environmental, and safety codes; and,

Whereas, student food insecurity has been a rising concern for many students; and,

Whereas, UC Irvine currently needs a sustainable source of funding to ensure that the campus is able to provide resources to solve student food insecurity, both undergraduate and graduate students; and,

Whereas, a UC Irvine Student Affairs survey, released in June 2014, indicated that 27% of UC Irvine undergraduate students face food insecurity; and,

Whereas, providing resources and funding to solve food insecurity amongst students in higher education institutions can help students to survive and thrive in their academic experiences; and,

Whereas, there is a student fee referendum that is pushed by UC Irvine undergraduate students that would aim to provide funding a full-time staff to focus on food security efforts on our campus, to expand the food pantry at UC Irvine, to bring in mobile food pantries to provide fresh produce options for our students, and to provide additional programs and workshops to educate students, staff, and faculty about food insecurity and food justice; and,

Whereas, this referendum will be able to provide the funding needed to cover the services mentioned above; and,

Whereas, the ASUCI Legislative Council has passed Resolution 50-22 in November 2014 to support SOAR's efforts in alleviating student food insecurity and "acknowledges the need of a program that reduce hunger amongst UC Irvine students;" and,

Whereas, this referendum will enact in the fall of 2016 for ten years if passed in the 2016 ASUCI Spring Elections; and,

Whereas, this referendum is a joint referendum between undergraduate and graduate students; and,

Whereas, this referendum calls for a small fee ($3.00/quarter/student) during the fall, winter, spring, and summer quarters starting Fall 2016 for ten years; and,

Whereas, starting Fall 2017, fee shall increase annually based on the California Consumer Price Index (CPI) to offset the effects of inflation; and

Whereas, the ASUCI Office of the President, the ASUCI Office of the Executive Vice President, the ASUCI Office of the Administrative Affairs Vice President, the ASUCI Office of the Academic Affairs Vice President, and the ASUCI Office of the Student Services Vice President support a student fee referendum to alleviate student food insecurity at UC Irvine; and,

Whereas, UC Office of the President approved the ballot language of this referendum in February 2016; and,

Therefore, let it be resolved that ASUCI Legislative Council approves the Food Pantry Initiative to be placed on the ballot for the ASUCI Spring 2016 elections; and,

Therefore, Let it further be resolved that the ballot language will read as follows:

FOOD PANTRY REFERENDUM

“Addressing student food access and security.”

Are you in favor of a $3.00 per quarter fee to fund the operations and expansion of the current campus food pantry and support student food access and security initiatives?

This student fee will be used to cover the expenses of operating the current food pantry that provides free nonperishable food to students who experience food insecurity. This includes, but is not limited to, the cost of food, transportation, marketing, and maintenance. Additionally, the funding will be used towards the expansion of the food pantry and establishing a mobile food pantry with fresh produce. The funding from this initiative will also be used to coordinate financial, nutritional, and wellness programs, provide food consultation and referral services, and establish an emergency food fund.

·       The quarterly fee will be assessed to undergraduate and graduate students.

·       The fee will be charged for the fall, winter, spring, and summer quarters, starting fall 2016.

·       The fee will be managed by the Student Outreach and Retention Center. An audit of the use of these funds may be provided upon request.

·       In accordance with campus practice, 33% of the fee will be returned to financial aid to help offset the cost of this fee for students who are eligible for financial aid.

·       Starting fall 2017, the fee will increase annually based on the California Consumer Price Index (CPI) to offset the effects of inflation.  The CPI will be taken from the California Department of Finance’s calendar year annual average of all urban consumers CPI‐U.

·       The operators of the food pantry shall be responsible for providing an annual report to the Chancellor on its programming and operations to ensure the proper and effective use of the fees collected.

·       This fee will sunset on its 10th year (2025-26, unless the student body reaffirm this fee.  This fee can be reaffirmed as early as the 9th year (2024-25) otherwise; this fee will terminate at the end of its 10th year (2025-26).

·       In order for this measure to pass with the fee being assessed to undergraduate students, this referendum will require a 25% eligible total undergraduate voter turnout rate during the Spring Elections, of which 60% of those votes need to be Yes votes.

·       In order for this measure to pass with the fee being assessed to graduate students, this referendum will require a 20% eligible total graduate voter turnout rate of which at least 60% of those votes need to be Yes votes.

___ Yes, I support a $3.00 per quarter fee to fund the operations and expansion of the current campus food pantry and support student food access and security initiatives.

___ No, I do not support a $3.00 per quarter fee to fund the operations and expansion of the current campus food pantry and support student food access and security initiatives.

___ Abstain

 UCI GUIDELINES FOR COMPULSORY CAMPUS BASED FEES

R51-59 (Food Pantry): 18 yes, 0 no, 8 abstain (0 abstaining, 5 absent, 3 vacancies) ≈ 69.2% yes (18/26) PASS