Commentary on Student Fees and Diversity Advocate Spending

Toni Airaksinen:

Two weeks ago, school officials confirmed that 20 students have been hired, at an estimated annual cost of up to $42,000. Reached by Campus Reform, a spokesman claimed that the project is not funded by taxpayers, but rather, by the Student Services Fee.

That $376-per-quarter fee is not optional. Over a standard four-year degree, the fee amounts to at least $4,512—more if a student takes longer to graduate.

Despite mounting criticism of the program since Campus Reform initially broke the story, UCLA has since chosen to hire even more students, announcing on Tuesday that it hopes to recruit an unspecified number of graduate students to the program, too.

“Attention friends of IGR! We have re-opened applications for GRADUATE students who want to be paid Diversity Peer Leaders for 2018-2019! Check out the application… and please share it with friends!” notes the August 14 Facebook post.

UCLA declined to disclose how many additional students they seek to hire. With 20 undergraduates already hired, it’s unclear if they seek to hire an equal number of graduate students, or perhaps just a handful to watch over the younger students.