Cheng, a senior at UC Irvine (UCI), has been the focus of media attention after being accused of sexual battery earlier this year by an ex-girlfriend. While the Orange County District Attorney’s office rejected the case due to a lack of “corroborating evidence,” Cheng was found guilty of “unwanted touching” by the UCI Student Conduct Office on March 10.

Around 20 protesters rallied for Cheng to resign at the March 16 regents’ meeting in San Francisco. Cheng did not attend the meeting in the hopes of discouraging such protests.

In a statement made on Monday, UC Board of Regents chairman Russell Gould said Cheng resigned for “personal reasons,” and made no mention of the Conduct Office’s verdict.

Cheng has maintained his innocence since his arrest on Nov. 4, and has said his decision to step down was not due to his conviction. In open letter posted to the UC student regent blog, Cheng called the case a distraction from other serious student issues, and said his decision was made with the best interests of students in mind.

“I am stepping down now because I think it is the right decision… for the student movement to move forward without distraction,” Cheng said.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Student Regent Steps Down

Student Regent Jesse Bernal is a graduate student at the Gevirtz School of Education at UC Santa Barbara. He is a voting member of the Board of Regents, but his term will end on June 30. Photo by Isaac Miller.

Jesse Cheng is a fourth-year Asian-American studies major at UC Irvine. Currently the Student Regent Designate, Cheng will begin his one-year term as a voting member of the board on July 1. Photo by Kathryn Power.

Compiled by:
Arianna Puopolo – City on a Hill Press Co-Editor in Chief
Ben Gevercer – City on a Hill Press Reporter
Sarah Naugle – City on a Hill Press Reporter

City on a Hill Press joined student regent and UCSB graduate Jesse Bernal and student regent designate Jesse Cheng, a fourth-year at UC Irvine, at the regents’ meeting Jan. 20 to discuss the future of the state and university, as well as the appointment process for the next student regent. The Jesses are a team and they complement each other well. Many of their responses may seem fragmented because of one interrupting the other, to add to or modify the other’s response.

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CHP: Are you feeling optimistic about the budget in light of the governor’s new proposal?

Cheng: [Optimistic] has a lot of positive connotation to it. There’s not a positive connotation to the governor’s budget.

Bernal: I’d say ‘less disappointed’ is more accurate.

CHP: Do you think the Governor’s request for $6 billion is feasible?

Bernal: It was smart strategically for the state to tie it to the federal government, because then you can divert the pointing of the fingers to someone else. It doesn’t really benefit us. It makes things a little more shaky … at least the current budget is in the right direction and it’s sending a more positive message than we have had in the past. Education should be a priority. It’s a different message, especially in such a tight budget year, to say that we’re still important.

CHP: How do you feel about the idea of cutting from prisons and moving toward privatization?

Cheng: That’s not our field. That’s not our fight. We have nothing against corrections. We have nothing against rehabilitation. It’s the idea that we’re going to recognize higher education as a priority above prisons. For a good future of California you would want to fund more people to a university than to the prison system. That’s what the constitutional amendment kind of symbolizes­—

Bernal: —The governor pitting education against corrections is questionable. Any increase or lack in funding for higher education is something I support—

Cheng: I support any increase in funding for the higher education system.

CHP: In the past, student regents have worked from a sort of platform. Do you two have a platform?

Bernal: The interesting thing about this year is that our agenda has kind of been set for us. The commission on the future has kind of taken up our lives. The cool thing is that some of the goals we had are being talked about. The commission is actually working on some things with AB-540.

Here, our meeting was interrupted by a UCOP staff member who called Bernal away. His presence was required in the conference room.

CHP: Would you say that student action in the past has influenced what the regents are discussing and putting on the table right now?

Cheng: Yeah. With recent student actions — and a variety of student actions, I don’t just want to focus on the radical ones — have made student activism part of the political equation. When you discuss something now you’re going to think, ‘How are students going to react to this?’ Or, ‘How can we mobilize students toward this direction?’ Before we weren’t really factored in as part of Sacramento advocacy. Now we’re really in tune there. What you heard in there was a bunch of regents saying ‘Yeah, we recognize you as a force, we would like to be a part of that force, we would like to work together, we can’t do this without you.’ That’s really critical and that’s something that wasn’t necessarily there before the actions in November.

CHP: Do you think the presence of students at the regents’ meetings, whether they’re taking action or not, affects the votes or influences decision-making and the discussions that are held?

Cheng: It influences decision-making and the rhetoric that’s going around the table. I don’t know if any votes change in that last minute, but it sets up foundations to consider for the future.

One of the big things that really hurt in November is that there were no students in the room when the fee increase vote actually happened … because the students got kicked out right beforehand. That really hurt us because it’s a different thing to vote — maybe you’re still going to vote for a fee increase, but it’s very different to see the students you’re voting a fee increase on. That emotional resonance is different.

Today there weren’t really students out there on the table. That’s a really significant thing, that nobody’s out there. The fact that there’s no students out there doesn’t look good for us.

I wish more students would just randomly show up at these things. It would be healthy for the regents.

You were there in November, but where were you in the regent meeting before or the regent meeting before that? When the furlough meeting came up, there were only five students in the crowd. The furlough vote was something that really had long-term effects on the student population. And we need to speak out about all those impacts — not just the fee increases. All the ones that affect faculty and thus affect us … continued long-term student involvement.

If you come out to one meeting it’s not necessarily going to change that discussion, but if you come out to all the meetings of that year, the regents are going to take notice. It changes the frame of our debate.

CHP: A lot of students really feel that the regents are the enemy. In what ways are they not?

Cheng: We talk about where they are now. But we don’t talk about where they came from. They’re here for a reason. We might see them as an outside entity, but they see us as very integral to who they are and their lives. They might not have as much interaction with the students as we want them to or as they need to, but that doesn’t mean the passion isn’t there … the students interacting with the regents and getting the regents to interact with them more [means] that we’re going to see that growth come out and more of that humanity come out.

They’re not getting paid. And that’s because maybe they have millions on the side anyway. These are clean-cut operations. The highest-paid regents at the University of California are me and Jesse Bernal because we get part of our tuition reimbursed for doing this work. I got a salary increase because we raised fees.

CHP: How are you balancing your undergraduate education with being student regent?

Cheng: I’m going to do a positive spin on this, because we’re doing a recruitment tour and I want people to apply. It’s actually very possible to balance. Professors are really understanding, especially if they know what you’re working for. You’re going out there and you’re fighting for access and affordability and quality of education. Part of it is about balancing. This is one of the most amazing educational opportunities I’ve ever had. The education you get doing this is different than anything else you’ll experience at the UC, so it’s almost worth putting in all the time and effort to balance it.

CHP: What qualities are you looking for in the next student regent?

Cheng: Collaboration. The ability to work in teams. This has to be a close pair. You have to be able to learn quickly. You have to adapt extremely quickly. You have to be able to think from multiple perspectives. And it’s really mentally exhausting, so you have to have that stamina to do that day-in and day-out.

Every student regent brings very different traits to the table. You have to speak very eloquently. You have to be passionate. If you’re very passionate about fighting for student issues and fighting for the University of California, then this is where you should be. This isn’t worth what you’re going to get on your resume. You have to have passion.

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Student regent designate Jesse Cheng will visit UCSC on his recruitment tour next Friday, Jan. 5. Students interested in applying to be the next student regent or having the opportunity to speak with your UCOP student representative may join Cheng at the Bay Tree Conference Room Redwood Lounge from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Q&A: Student Regent Jesse Bernal and Student Regent Designate Jesse Cheng

Photo courtesy of Jesse Cheng.

Photo courtesy of Jesse Cheng.

Jesse Cheng, a third-year Asian American studies major at UC Irvine, was nominated by the UC Board of Regents Special Committee as the candidate for the 2009-10 student regent delegate.

The committee met on May 20 in Santa Monica to nominate Cheng. Their choice was not public until the following Friday because of a protocol which mandates that the UC President and chairman of the board of regents be notified first.

On June 30, the Board of Regents will vote Cheng or one of two other student regent finalists into the office. Though the regents have voted in accordance with the Special Committee’s nomination in nearly every election, nothing is certain until that date.

As of July 1, the current student regent designate, Jesse Bernal, will become a voting member of the board and the new student regent designate will assume the responsibilities of that position.

Cheng’s résumé is laden with political experience. He has participated in several university organizations including serving as external chair for the Asian American Students Union at UCI, Academic Senate representative for the Council for Educational Policy, chair of the Student Fee Advisory Committee, an administrative intern for the College Cultural Center, and a summer intern for the UC Student Association.

If elected, Cheng will be the first undergraduate student regent in more than five years. As an undergraduate, the student regent nominee said, he will bring a new point of view to the board.

“Being an undergrad really affects what I bring to the table,” he said. “I want to be very cognizant that I bring all perspectives.”

The student regent nominee opened up to City on a Hill Press about his plans, aspirations and reservations serving as student regent designate.

Why did you want to be a student regent?

When I first applied, I applied because one of my mentors had told me to apply. It was kind of on a whim. As the interviews went on, you grow a more developed reason you want to become a UC regent. The decisions we make in the next few years are going to shape the model of the university for the next few decades and I want to be part of that. I want to preserve the quality of education we find here at the UC system.

What are your top priorities as a student regent?

There’s a lot to learn about the UC system. In my lifetime of experiences there is no way to understand the complexity of the University of California’s history. I don’t really have an agenda. I want to be able to have a broad perspective as a regent.

How will you represent the students at your school and the other UC campuses?

I cannot claim to represent every student in the UC system. I am not necessarily a representation of all the students in the UC system. What I do have is my perspective, my perspective as a UC student. Through that perspective, that’s how I say I serve the UC. I have a shared experience of many students. I would like to believe that I have shared values and shared beliefs.

What is the first step you’d take to solve the UC budget crises?

Maybe we need to think more broadly than fee hikes. How we address these cuts will affect our model for higher education for decades to come. Even if we increase tuition it’s not going to answer back.

The problem is very complex but I think we need to take a step back. They’re much more complex and nuanced than raising tuition. My issue for tuition increases is accessibility and affordability.

I don’t want the public to de-invest from the University of California. We need to be able to explain to the state that this is still a public institution for everybody and a vehicle for social mobility.

Are you nervous about the appointment?

Oh yeah. That’s why I’m being careful about what I’m saying now. Not that there’s a misrepresentation of what I’m saying. I just want to be cognizant of what I’m saying and how I’m saying it. Part of me is very hesitant about putting out something that I may later regret when I have more information or I have a new perspective.

I stand for what I stand for. I spoke [at the May 7 regents’ meeting] because I believe in accessibility and affordability. I know where my values stand. I know what I’d like to do and what I want to do. It’s a level I’ve never had to operate at before. I’d like to believe that my values won’t change when I get to that level, but maybe my information will.

Many people are talking about privatization and adopting a model like that used at the University of Michigan. Do you think that’s a good idea?

I’m really deeply invested in the idea of the UC as a public higher institution model. The idea of being a part of public higher education is really what has made the university so great. If the UC were to go private I think we’d lose something that really makes us special.

How do you think the state should reprioritize taxes and ballot initiatives to fund public education?

It’s a system that’s so much larger than whether we increase or decrease tuition. It says something about how drastic these cuts are, and how dire the budge situation in the state of California is, when the university is saying they can’t absorb all the cuts in one year.

The history of propositions build up to this time. Our solutions must be very fundamental and deep, and a solution will take just as long as the legislation has to get us to where we are now.

How do you plan to act as a liaison between the regents and the students?

A part of me really believes that they want to do the best for the students. They want to do the best for the University of California. That’s the role of the student regent — to bring the student perspective to the regents and bring the regents’ perspective back to the students. For me, it’s about understanding that these regents are here voluntarily. They want to do good by the university.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at The New Voice of UC Anticipates his Election