cont... Javier LaFianza was a fifth-year senior when the Free Press interviewed him in Isla Vista in May 1989. Over several years, LaFianza was involved with the re-assertion of student-control over the UCen, a police/student relations committee, and the Student Fee Advisory Committee before being elected A.S. President for 1988-89. He also served a year term on the Isla Vista Community Council, 1986-87, and was involved with the hunger strike on campus during 1989, which was attempting to secure a two-course ethnic studies requirement. Free Press: What did you learn from your experience in student government? LaFianza: Before I became A.S. President, I had believed that you could get things done by working through the process channels that were provided. Even though I'd been stalled in the process for years before then, I felt that becoming president would help--the increased stature would overcome this. What I discovered is that you have to resort to pressure tactics to get things done because the bureaucracy and the Chancellor respond a lot better when there is some sense of urgency. Some combination of process and other empowering methods works best. I learned, too, that you can't make everybody happy--you have to find your own issues and stick to those, and push all the way. Free Press: What do you feel was accomplished over the past year? LaFianza: Our biggest accomplishments were in the field of ethnic diversity. The faculty vote on the ethnic studies requirement won't be known for a few more days (it eventually came in in favor of a one-course requirement), but the entire campus community is a whole lot more aware of the issue how. Plus the $7,500 A.S. put up for the multi-cultural center has resulted in the funding of a $45,000 program including adding an Asian EOP counselor. In fact, I heard David Hough of the Student Fee Advisory Committee say recently that 80-90% of the money they spent this year was on diversity issues and this would not have happened without the climate we created. Also, we had minimum student representation added to Faculty Committees, and they will be considering making these voting members at the next Faculty Senate meeting (they remained advisory). All in all, I think it was a very good year--a productive year. We did more educating than perhaps in any other recent year. Free Press: What is your opinion of the new Chancellor and her style of leadership, which I've heard is to push various segments of the campus community into making decisions without necessarily stating her position on the issues? LaFianza: I think in fact the Administration is paralyzed, and I hear a lot of concern from the faculty about this, too. They never gave an adequate response to the activism on ethnic issues. I wonder if Uehling is all that aware of what's going on? We had to explain to her one time what a CSO was! She trusts too much in the conduits of information to her, and if these are polluted or clueless, she gets incomplete and tainted information. The result is she appears to be uninvolved. Free Press: What are the major campus/community issues now? LaFianza: Obviously what's going on with the police is a major issue. When cops start enforcing the leash law (for dogs) in the middle of a festival at a park in I.V., something is definitely wrong. Certainly, communication between police and residents is lacking and needs to be dealt with, but the leash law enforcement means that there is something else going on. There is a definite undercurrent of hostility coming from the police and complete lack of respect toward residents, and this is a recurring problem over the years. This is a high-stress, over-crowded environment to deal with--both for residents and the police. And we need more than band-aid solutions. And it's all caused by overenrollment--what you might say is the second problem, but the first problem is caused by the second. It's so obvious--there are too many cars, bike accidents, the problem with police . . . . I.V. needs community self-determination to deal with this, yet this is exactly what the University (Administration) won't allow. Maybe they will figure out that this needs to happen now that all of these problems are consistently happening. The proposed redevelopment agency is a case in point. What will be the governance board? Appointments from various groups (like Wallace wants) is okay for some of them, but the majority should be elected. And Wallace is noted for not appointing students and I.V. residents to County advisory boards. Also trash and recycling is a problem in Isla Vista, and one that should be easy to solve. 1 2 3 4 home

Šislavistahistory.com 2002