University of California students are pushing for greater representation on the influential UC Board of Regents, arguing that the current single voting student voice is too little at a time of sweeping political and technological disruptions in higher education.
Assembly Constitutional Amendment 18 would ask voters in November to decide whether to add a second student representative. The proposal is co-authored by Assemblymembers Jessica M. Caloza (D-Los Angeles) and and Patrick Ahrens (D-Sunnyvale).
At the same time, UC is is strongly advocating for another, unrelated measure that would put a $23-billion bond on the fall ballot to launch a California Foundation for Science and Health Research. The state counterpart to the National Institutes of Health would fund grants and programs for research in biomedicine, climate, wildfire, and infectious disease, among other areas.
On Tuesday, Caloza and Ahrens joined a group of students calling for greater representation during a campaign-style rally outside the regents meeting at UCLA, part of a statewide tour.
The 26-member Board of Regents has one voting student regent and one nonvoting student regent-designate, who trains for a year before taking the voting seat when the prior member cycles off. If passed by the Legislature and voters, the amendment would would require the regents to appoint two undergraduate and two graduate students to two-year terms beginning July 1, 2027. Each student would serve their first year as a nonvoting regent-designate.
The sole student regent position was approved by voters in 1974. Both the California State University trustees and the California Community Colleges Board of Governors have two student voting members on their governing panels.
A similar UC measure to add another student regent failed five years ago.
As a constitutional amendment, ACA 18 it does not need Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature. But it has to clear both legislative chambers by a two-thirds vote before going to voters.
Students say increasing representation is necessary as UC faces Trump administration restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion programming, federal scrutiny of admissions, ongoing free-speech disputes tied to 2024 pro-Palestinian protests, and tuition increases that regents voted in last year.
“Students are long overdue for increased representation and input on UC Regent decisions,” said Sherry Zhou, external vice president of the UCLA Undergraduate Students Assn. Council. “I have seen how student input has been sidelined and ignored.”
Zhou said her peers rely on the student regent post to raise concerns about policing, student workers and student services. She said the proposal is “about more than representation. It is about equity, accountability and ensuring that the people most impacted have a real voice.”
UCLA Undergraduate Students Assn. Council President Diego Bollo said students “have remained in the shadows while decisions about tuition, housing and student services are made without their input.”
Samantha Zavala, a UC Riverside junior and UC Student Assn. vice chair for UCweVote, a get-out-the-vote group, said she has spent several months advocating with lawmakers and students in support of the bill.
“Five years ago, we tried this campaign, and we passed the committee and we were stuck in appropriations,” she said. “Today, we find ourselves past the higher education committee and in appropriations once again.” She urged students to press lawmakers to support the effort before a June deadline.
Jack Feng, external affairs vice president for UCLA’s Graduate Students Assn., voiced support but said barriers persist for graduate, out-of-state, international and mid-career students. “In the more than 50-year history of the position, no international student has ever been appointed,” said Feng, an international student. Feng said he spoke for himself and not the graduate student association.
UC has not taken a position on ACA 18. In a statement, a spokesperson said students “play a critical role in shaping University policies. … Their insightful perspective and contributions help make UC the nation’s top public university and we’re committed to continuing our strong collaboration with them.”
But UC is solidly behind Senate Bill 895, the bond measure for science research funding. UC is co-sponsoring the bill with United Auto Workers Region 6 and the Union of American Physicians and Dentists.
UC President James B. Milliken rallied for that bill Monday in Sacramento with Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), UAW President Shawn Fain, faculty, students and staff. They included members of UAW 4811, which represents 40,000 academic workers — including doctoral and postdoctoral science researchers — across UC campuses.
“The University of California is facing the most significant disruption to our research enterprise in our history,” Milliken said, pointing to federal funding cuts. He noted that five Nobel laureates last year had UC ties. “It seems inconceivable to me that we would voluntarily relinquish the leadership that has propelled our country, fueled the economy, made us healthier, and made us safer,” he said.
SB 895 requires legislative approval and the governor’s signature to qualify for the ballot.
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