A possible partnership between UC Davis and U.S. Bank to add a branch to the Memorial Union is inciting protest among some students.
The branch would be placed at the East Conference Room in the MU and is intended bring revenue to the university. A 10-year contract with a $3,000 signing bonus would net $140,000 per year for UC Davis, said ASUCD President Ivan Carrillo at the senate meeting on Jan. 15.
Carrillo presented information to students during Thursday’s senate meeting to explain what he believes to be a lack of dialogue between the university and ASUCD. Carrillo made it clear that ASUCD was not in support of the possible addition.
“The student participation in this process I think has been very inadequate,” he said.
Carrillo did not learn about the possible addition until Jan. 9, though contracts between the university and the bank could have been signed as early as this week.
“I highly value the input of every single student and we are being as transparent as possible with the senate table as well to represent the best interests of students,” he said. “If this contract does not represent the best interests of students, then I am going to oppose it.“
The senate was scheduled to hear legislation on the issue at the meeting but withdrew the item when the administration agreed to pause negotiations, Carrillo said.
Most opposition stems from the allocation of funds from U.S. Bank going to certain areas of the university, such as the Memorial Union, MU Reserves, Campus Recreation and Inter-Collegiate Athletics. Other portions of funds were not yet determined, Carrillo said.
“I strongly oppose this,” said Sarah Raridon, a junior gender studies major who was present at Thursday’s senate meeting. “I feel like Intercollegiate Sports are already well-funded and places like the Women’s Resource and Research Center, the LGBRC, Cross Cultural center are losing staff and programs by the day and that’s really sad.“
Associate Vice Chancellor Janet Gong would not confirm the financial figures quoted by Carrillo, nor answer specific questions regarding the possible U.S. Bank addition in order to respect conversations between the university and ASUCD, she said.
“This is a long term proposition. We are exploring this relationship and ways to generate revenue from non students to help us protect student services and help diversity funding sources in the midst of budget reductions,” Gong said.
Gong said that the university was in contact with previous ASUCD presidents for the past three years, and now hopes to continue consulting with student representatives.
“Student consultation is always important in whatever we do. There has been some student consultation but it is important that we have current elected officials,” she said.
Gong said that the university and Carrillo along with other student-leaders will continue discussions early this week.
Carrillo will host a town hall style meeting today in Wellman 2 from 7 to 8 p.m. to welcome any views or concerns from students.
ANGELA RUGGIERO can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
